Opening Reception: Artist Jean Cunningham

Artist Jean Cunningham is exhibiting new paintings at POUR Evanston, December 2 – January 21, 2025. Join us for an artist reception, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 6-8p.

Click here to see the pieces on exhibit and shop the collection online at shopevanstonmade.org

Join us for an artist reception, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 6-8p

Hosted at POUR Evanston, 528 Dempster St.

FREE to attend w RSVP here

Light refreshments and beverages are available for purchase.

Artist Statement 

Jean Cunningham May 2024 I create watercolor paintings and pen sketches. I “discover” the subject matter of my artworks by observing the component shapes, colors, and textures within the indoor and outdoor scenes that are the background of my life. I became an artist late in life. From a family of creatives, I was different. I loved business and work. I did not take art instruction beyond what was offered in grade school. But in second grade, Mrs. Jung taught the class how to create a watercolor apple blossom. I’ve always remembered that you could be taught to make a painting. Years later, I was a frequent business flyer. During a flight one day, I noticed a passenger painting with watercolor at his tray table using a small, very portable, watercolor kit. I needed something to channel my frequent doodling on the flights and thought that might be fun. Exploring painting slowly seized me over 20 years. I loved discovering the tools and the colors of the painter’s world. Constant doodling became sketching. I took classes in color theory, perspective, and other basic painting principles. I sampled watercolor, acrylic, and oil paints while using others’ work as learning models. I started carrying a sketch book. My husband and I started collecting art. Without thinking about it, my home business office was being swarmed over by artwork, equipment, and supplies. 

I retired from the business world in 2020. 

Today my office is fully transformed into my art studio with only a small space for a computer and attendant accessories. I settled on watercolor as my painting medium of choice in 2023. I’ve fallen back on my first art love established on those long passed frequent flights. This stage of my art journey really “feels like me”—a first—and it flows from my mind to my hand with minimal struggle. I am currently creating watercolor paintings from photographs that contain one or more large shapes and contrasting colors. The paintings in this series have a fantasy or surreal quality, but the original photograph always underlies the obvious. They are usually either landscape photos with or without unnatural objects or urban scenes with interesting geometry. I don’t mix paint colors and maintain separate and distinct shapes which align with my line drawings. I don’t use the same colors as the photo but may hint at the original color for a particular shape. I’ve long loved intense complementary colors. I maintain high contrast and add small marks to draw the viewer in for a closer look. The shapes are all solid color and not present in my mind. They tend to evolve and surprise me for as long as my brush is on the paper. In some shapes I add tone variations to create a particular feeling. 

About Evanston Made

Evanston Made creates programs and events that connect Evanston artists to a growing community of arts enthusiasts and patrons.

Evanston Made is a membership-based arts organization with a mission to connect artists to art enthusiasts and patrons and also to provide community and professional development for our members. Membership is open to artists, artisans, makers who make everything from art to clothes to music. We also welcome members who are art lovers and patrons who want to help us carry out our mission.

Learn more about Membership at evanstonmade.org

About Evanston POUR

Evanston Pour is a Euro-style coffee house by day and craft cocktail lounge by night.

Learn more at evanstonpour.com