This weekend, I set aside some time to paint. Close to twenty hours over three days, to be exact, plus another hour or so photographing the piece and then color-correcting it on the computer.

This is an acrylic painting on heavy watercolor paper I did of the Southside of Chicago, using dozens of photographic references, none of which were actually from this perspective. I wanted to do something different than just another depiction of the famous skyline (not that there’s anything wrong with that).

Obviously, the style I employed here is an impression of an impressionist. My fingers weren’t up to working in high detail, and while I am in a years-long fascination with the work of Edward Hopper, I wanted to take a different approach to this one. I thought it might be interesting to apply a Claude Monet-derived vision to Hopperesque subject matter. In this case, an industrial part of a city, complete with the “L” running through it.

I’m sort of happy with taking a Hopper-type subject matter, but composing and rendering it in a more organic, less technical, finished painting. Not aiming for precision was a bit liberating.

As usual, I am not thrilled with the sky, and considered cropping it out for the blog, but then the aspect ratio would make sharing it on social media annoying, so I left it as is.

To see it bigger try clicking HERE.

Over in radioland we have new stuff this week. You can listen to The AIR at the website, or on the embedded radio player elsewhere on this page.

Monday at 2 PM on The AIR, we bring you a new episode of Psychedelic Shack,  As always, Nigel Pye has compiled a collection of creative cacophonic concoctions, designed to expand the mind and free the soul.  Check out the playlist…

Psychedelic Shack 077

Cream “Sunshine of Your Love”
Inner Thoughts “Smokestack Lightning”
The Kids “Jordan Land”
The Impact Express “A Little Love”
The Ranch “A Little While Back”
Yellow Brick Road “When Fall Arrives”
The Razor’s Edge “Baby’s On His Way”
Elephant Stone “L.A. Woman”
Sons of Hippies “Soul Kitchen”
Kinetic “Suddenly Tomorrow”
The Matadors “Get Down From The Tree”
Russ Alquist “The Laughing Man”
Virgin Sleep “Haliford House”
L.A. “Nine to Five”
The Unknown Group “Out of My Head (Over You)”

Psychedelic Shack can be heard every Monday at 2 PM, with replays Tuesday at 9 AM, Wednesday at 10 PM, Friday at 1 PM,  and Saturday at 9 AM.

Then at 3 PM a new edition of Herman Linte’s weekly showcase of the Progressive Rock of the past half-century, Prognosis brings you two hours of classic Progressive Rock bands with substitute vocalists.  These are tunes released by the biggest bands of Prog after their most famous vocalists have departed.

The show opens with the title track of the just-released album by YES, and continues with post-lineup-change vocal turns by Marillion, Pallas, Styx, Kansas, King Crimson and more. You’ll also get to hear Genesis with lead vocalist Ray Wilson, and the show concludes with more from YES, this time featuring the vocals of Benoit David, who since leaving the band has exited the entire music industry.  There’s even a local connection as he includes a track by Renaissance, featuring Grafton, WV native, Stephanie Adlington, taking over behind the microphone from Annie Haslam.

Check out the playlist with the Legion of Substitute Vocalists (with the vocalists in brackets)…

Prognosis 104

YES “Mirror To The Sky” (Jon Davison)
Genesis “One Man’s Fool” (Ray Wilson)
Marillion “The Lap of Luxury” (Steve Hogarth)
King Crimson “Lizard” (Jon Anderson, Gordon Haskell)
ASIA “Crime of The Heart” (John Payne)
Renaissance “Somewhere West of Here” (Stephanie Adlington)
Pallas “Rat Race” (Alan Reed)
3 (Emerson, Berry and Palmer) “Desde La Vida” (Robert Berry)
Styx “Crash of the Crown” (Lawrence Gowan)
Queen + Paul Rodgers “We Believe” (Paul Rodgers)
Kansas “Crossfire” (John Elefante”
YES “Fly From Here (excerpts)” (Benoit David)

You can hear Prognosis on The AIR Monday at 3 PM, with replays Tuesday at 7 AM, Wednesday at 8 PM, Thursday at Noon, and Saturday at 10 AM. You can hear two classic episodes of the show Sunday at 2 PM.

At 8 PM you can hear an hour of Polka-heavy music from Weird Al Yankovic on a new episode of Comedy Vault.

Tonight at 9 PM the Monday Marathon presents ten hours of Sydney’s Big Electric Cat, with two-hour blocks devoted to each year of New Wave Music from 1978 to 1982.