90th Annual Members Art Show, The North Shore Art League

On September 5th from 6:30 – 9:30 pm, a preview party with a light supper and bar opens the show which will run through Sunday, September 13.  Gallery hours:   Monday through Friday, 11 – 4 pm; Thursday evening, 11 – 8 pm; Saturday and Sunday, Noon to 3 pm.  The opening reception costs $60. for reservations received by September 2nd and $70 at the door. See http://www.northshoreartleague.org for details.  Free viewing of the show after opening night.  Two paintings will be on exhibit at the show.  “Spring in the Country” is one.

Spring in the Country

Watercolor Works 2014

On September 12th from 6 – 9 pm and  September 14th from 1 – 5 pm, six of my watercolors will be on exhibit at the Bill Bartelt Studio.  The studio located at 4659 N. Ravenswood  (773-230-3198) has ample free parking in front and is close to the Brown Line and Metra.  The exhibit will also feature the work of Bill Bartelt, Maureen Carr, Gail Cotovsky, Mitchell Egly, Karen Goldstein, Ann Hoffman, Cynthia Johnson, Gerri Kaye, and Tony Plese.  “Brooding Skyline,” a 3 x 3 mini, is one of the paintings in this show.

Brooding Skyline

Filmed by Frank Dina at the artist reception held on August 10, 2014, the video features fellow artists Meredith Dytch, Diane Sutliff, Susan Walsh, and Ruth Woll talking with Karen about specific paintings and her development as an artist.

These still photos from the reception offer another perspective on the event.  The exhibit runs through August 28 at the Old Town School of Art 1763 N. North Park Ave..  Gallery hours:  Tuesday through Friday 10 – 5 and Saturdays 10 -1.

Signing In at A Sense of Place Artist Reception

The Elbe River Paintings

The Chicago Paintings

The Palm Springs Paintings

The NYC Paintings

The Imagined Places Paintings-I

The Imagined Places Paintings - II

The Imagined Places Paintings - III

Ruth and Elizabeth Talking about "The Other Bridge"

Susan and Marge Engrossed in Discussion

Ponce Studio Painting Group

“A Sense of Place” new paintings by Karen Vierneisel at the Old Town Art Center, 1763 N. North Park Ave.  See www.oldtowntriangle.com for gallery hours.  Exhibit runs through August 28, 2014

Bridges Approaching Dresden

During my cruise along the Elbe River in 2012, I would walk through the small towns and cities along the river banks and ruminate about my German ancestors.  The flood of memories this trip inspired led me to begin painting the evocative images I had seen immediately upon my return.  These richly textured associations also led me to understand my fascination with the Chicago skyline to which I return again and again as a painter. Now I appreciate more deeply the power of place in my life.   Besides the sixteen paintings of Prague, Berlin and the vistas along the banks of the Elbe River, the exhibit also features paintings that capture Chicago and New York cityscapes, the desert terrain of the Palm Springs area, and imagined places.

Join me at my artist reception Sunday, August 10 from 2 – 5 pm to see the paintings in person and learn more about the inspiration for my art.  As you view my paintings, I hope you sense the emotion that these landscapes have engendered in me, enjoy the beauty of place, and possibly hear the echoes of memories they evoke in you.

“A Sense of Place:  Real and Imagined” 

new paintings by

Karen Vierneisel

Exhibit opens August 2 and runs through August 28, 2014

Sandstone Cliffs on the Elbe

“A Sense of Place” was first inspired by two paintings I did based on my Elbe river cruise in 2012.  Those paintings led to others.  Being in Germany triggered memories of my German heritage and the paintings just seemed to flow.  Of course, the vistas along the Elbe’s banks in the Czech Republic and Germany were also made for a landscape  painter–sunrises and sunsets, mile high clouds, old bridges, misty waters, and sandstone cliffs.  My photos from the trip along with the images from my sketch book were the inspiration for the Elbe River series.

Long Ago . . . Here Now

This exhibit also features paintings that capture Chicago and New York cityscapes, the desert terrain of the Palm Springs area, and imagined places.  Come see the paintings, sense the emotion that these landscapes engendered in me, enjoy the beauty of place, and possibly hear the echoes of memories the images evoke in you.

Save the Date:  Artist Reception on Sunday, August 10, 2014 2pm – 5 pm   Light refreshments will be served.

Gallery Hours:  M – F: 10 – 5; Sat: 10 – 1

Join me Thursday, Nov. 21st for the North Shore Art League’s (NSAL) popular annual “inch works” show.  The exhibit and opening reception will be held at the Winnetka Community House, 2nd fl. from 6:30 – 8:00 pm.   My palette knife paintings “Sudden Blush”  and “Lightning Hits the Sears Tower” will be on display.

Sudden Blush

This show comes just in time for holiday gift-giving.  Featuring small  works of no larger than 12 x 12, “inch works” offers affordable art  that makes a perfect gift for your home or a special person in your  life.  The show runs from Nov. 21, 2013 through Jan. 14, 2014.

LOCATION:  620 Lincoln Ave, 2nd. floor, Winnetka, IL just  East of Green Bay Road.

Questions:  Call the NSAL office at 847-446-2870 or visit http://www.northshoreartleague.org.

The Nov. 10th show of the work of Didier Nolet and his students was a winner!  Art lovers sipped on wine while wandering the gallery to enjoy the colorful and inspired work of a group of serious artists and their teacher.  Artists mingled talking about color and what had inspired their work.  We challenged the Bears game and we WON!

Those Orange Peaks

I sold “Those Orange Peaks,” and we had lots of other interest in the work.  If you haven’t yet seen the show, you can still catch it at the Old Town School of Art through December 4, 2013.

LOCATION:  1763 N. North Park Avenue at the corner of Menomonee St. 

Questions:  Call the Old Town Art Center at 312-337-1938 or visit www.oldtowntriangle.com.

River Reflections

This is a show not to be missed! 

See new works from my “Elbe River Romance” series along with the work of my teacher Didier Nolet and fellow art students at the Old Town Art Center.  Exhibit runs Nov. 1 through December 4, 2013.

Opening Reception:  Sunday, Nov. 10 from 2 – 5 pm

Location:  1763 N. North Park Ave. in Chicago

Refreshments will be served at the opening.  Hope to see you there.

Go to http://www.oldtowntriangle.com  for details and gallery hours.

Exhibiting students from the Old Town School of Art include:  Elizabeth Collings, Marjorie Derrah, Jessica Kaplan, Katherine McCaughan, Mickey Mergener, Lenore Murphy, Gail O’Connor, Karen Vierneisel, Susan Walsh, and Ruth Woll.

Ravenswood Art Walk Salon and Silent Auction Tonight and  Art Walk tomorrow and Sunday, October 5 -6, 2013. 

Join me tonight at the Artists Salon and Silent Auction from 7 – 10:30 pm  at 4025 N. Ravenswood Ave.   My painting “Sudden Blush” will be one of many on which you can bid.  The Artists Salon is the jump start to the Ravenswood Art Walk, including a silent auction featuring Chicago artists work and local craft beer, wine, and food from Ravenswood area restaurants.  I look forward to seeing you at the Salon.

Sudden Blush

I also hope to see you the following Saturday or Sunday at the Ponce Studio at 4553 N. Wolcott in the carriage house; doors will be open on the alley from 11 am each day.   I along with other artists from the Wilson Artists’ Group will be exhibiting new paintings.  Exhibit closes Saturday between 6 & 7 pm and on Sunday between 5 & 6 pm.

The Wilson Artists’ Group is a collection of talented painters who work in various media and study with renowned painter Ann Ponce.  Representational and abstract works will be featured by the participating artists.  Ann will also be exhibiting her remarkable paintings of the Joffrey Ballet and Phil will have one his works on display as well.  This is an exhibit you don’t want to  miss!

Join me on Sunday, September 29th from Noon – 2 pm for the reception and awards ceremony of the Senior Artists’ Network Later Impressions show at the Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington St., Chicago.  Two of my paintings from my Elbe River Romance series–“Prague Canal in the Mala Strana” and “Deep Within the Memorial for the Murdered Jews of Europe-Berlin”–were juried into the show.  Both of these paintings are based on photographs I took in 2012 on my trip from Prague, Czech Republic to Berlin, Germany along the Elbe river.

Exhibit is free to the public and runs from September 16th through October 20th.

Prague Canal in the Mala Strana

Deep Within the Memorial for the Murdered Jews of Europe-Berlin

A warm late summer evening in Winnetka set the stage for a perfect evening on Friday, September 6th.  The Winnetka Community Center at which the North Shore Art League Members show was held was filled to capacity and the art work was impressive.  It was difficult to select a favorite.

For me the evening was capped off when I learned I had sold “Ochre Meadow with Mile High Clouds” and then listened to the riveting piano, cello, and violin of Aster Piazzolla played by the Gray Duo.  A perfect end to a perfect evening.  It is bittersweet to part with this painting which captured a deep yellow meadow and enormous billowing clouds which I photographed as my ship sailed along the Elbe river between Torgau and Wittenberg Germany.  But the new owner has a good eye and he will now be able to appreciate what first attracted my attention and compelled me to render that scene in oil.

Ochre Meadow with Mile High Clouds