During Third Thursday, on June 16, 2022, The Loft on Main, 112 E. Main Street, Morrison, IL, welcomed visitors, from 8:00 to 10:00 a.m., before the gallery doors opened.
Sarah Bull had baked molasses cookies. Marcia Haag baked rhubarb bread. Stephanie Vavra baked her mother’s lemon cake. Dave Boyles made coffee, and fruit juice was available.
Vavra asked four others to scan the room and spontaneously choose an appealing piece of art, which they would like to take home. Each could discuss what they liked about the oil painting, photograph, or pen and ink print.
City Administrator Barry Dykhuizen selected a photograph by Rick Prestley titled “Evening Rain.” The Paris cafe shows a wet evening, reflecting yellow lighting on the street, with diners under the awning. Vavra owns the same photograph, but Prestley first called it by the cafe’s name “Les Deux Palais,” French for “The Two Palaces.” She is attracted by the golden, rectangular glow cast by lights indoors and outside.
Mayor Scott Vandermyde admires the crisp precision of black and white prints by Phillip Maxfield.
Volunteer Pat McGarvey favors impressionism. She picked a large Joe Stuart landscape, showing the rolling hills of “Elizabeth” in northern Illinois. The oil painting was a soft blending of several colors.
Artist Joan Vander Bleek creates the most realistic paintings–even making glass items sparkle under her brushstrokes. Yet, she also was drawn to an impressionistic landscape oil painting by Joe Stuart. His small, stormy painting is titled “Rain.” Left-to-right, Vander Bleek, McGarvey, and Elise Vander Bleek enjoyed refreshments.
If you find any piece of art that “calls” to you, fill out one of the Wish List cards at the desk. Then, tell those who might purchase a gift for your special occasion, that you have a one-of-a-kind creation in mind. Original art never is outworn, outdated, or outgrown.
The next Third Thursday gathering is July 21, from 8:00 to 10:00 a.m. Come into The Loft on Main, and say hello! Friendly folks and and home baked refreshments will await you.