With banner sunny weather over Mother’s Day weekend, the fourth annual Northbrook Art in the Park, produced by Highland Park-based Amdur Productions, attracted thousands of visitors.
Village Green Park offered a shady canopy of heritage oak trees over the event’s two consecutive days. The juried festival launched on May 11.
“This is the prettiest venue that we have an art festival in,” said Amy Amdur of Highland Park, president of Amdur Productions, a fine arts festival company that she founded in 1984.
Seeking a bubble is Anthony Santos, 5, a kindergartner of River Forest at Northbrook Art in the Park on May 11, 2024 at Village Green Park in downtown Northbrook. (Karie Angell Luc/Pioneer Press)
“I think the trees are majestic and seeing art under the light coming through the trees is just beautiful.
“And everything is on a paved path, so you can come with your strollers or wheelchairs,” Amdur said. “Art is for everybody and it should be accessible by all and we really try to do that here.”
The free entry event included a kids’ art stop, live art demos and popular bubble art on the lawn.
Northbrook siblings Caroline Tal, 10, a fourth-grader, and Lila Tal, 7, a first-grader, made oversized bubbles in the company of their parent Kim Lacker.
“We come every year,” Lacker said. “We live really close and so we can walk over and they (Caroline and Lila) like to look at the art and play with the different crafts.”
On far left, Kim Lacker of Northbrook is seen among oversized bubbles with daughters Caroline Tal, 10, a fourth-grader and Lila Tal, 7, a first-grader at Northbrook Art in the Park on May 11, 2024, at Village Green Park in downtown Northbrook.(Karie Angell Luc/Pioneer Press)
Activities took place amid music by the Amdur Productions regular booking duo, Cirrus Falcon, who performed in the park’s renowned gazebo.
On Saturday afternoon, people were swaying to the music with one adult seen dancing and twirling.
Wearing a glittery shirt, Wheeling face painting artist Sharon Lippert had a busy booth on Saturday. Kiddies could choose from a rainbow of colors and fun designs for their temporary body art. Children waited for their turn and emerged with smiles after seeing their new looks in hand mirrors.
“It never is not fun,” Lippert said, also with a smile. “I’m still having a blast.”
Amdur said Northbrook Art in the Park featured 100 artists with some having double booths.
Amdur has noticed two artistic trends for 2024 including one, “toward a lot of color, not just one color, but just like a whole crayon box of color,” which helps, “to brighten our mood during what is a difficult time, some difficulties in the world right now.
“And the other trend I’m seeing is very calm work that is just soothing,” Amdur said. “So we’re seeing both of those with very soft colors.
“COVID was hard,” Amdur added, “and events in the world right now are hard and the uncertainty that people are dealing with in the world is hard.”
Best of show. In green, Amy Amdur of Highland Park, founder of Amdur Productions at Northbrook Art in the Park is about to award the Best of Show ribbon to Phillip Michaels of New York, New York, formerly of Glenview and of the Glenbrook South High School Class of 2005 on May 11, 2024 at Village Green Park in downtown Northbrook. (Karie Angell Luc/Pioneer Press)
One bright destination was the booth of abstract painter Phillip Michaels of New York, New York, formerly of Glenview and of the Glenbrook South High School Class of 2005. Amdur surprised Michaels with the signature Amdur Productions bright neon green Best of Show ribbon.
Michaels is influenced by impressionist and abstract expressionist painters such as Netherlands-American artist Willem de Kooning. Willem de Kooning’s influences included Vincent Willem van Gogh, the post-Impressionist painter renowned for southern France artwork. In 1997, de Kooning died at age 92.
Michaels said, “de Kooning was my first favorite abstract expressionist painter.
“At this point, I really just work from within myself though and I kind of just try to stay open and flow and see where it leads me,” said Michaels, who took ceramics and painting classes during youth.
“It’s funny,” Michaels said. “I actually grew up playing tennis, that was my thing, also strokes … a different stroke.”
Best of show. From left, Phillip Michaels of New York, New York, formerly of Glenview and of the Glenbrook South High School Class of 2005 accepts the ribbon from Amy Amdur of Highland Park, founder of Amdur Productions at Northbrook Art in the Park on May 11, 2024 at Village Green Park in downtown Northbrook. (Karie Angell Luc/Pioneer Press)
Amdur said the strokes in the work by Michaels look, “like music.
“I asked him (Michaels) if he paints to music,” Amdur said. “If I was to be able to visualize what music would look like, it would be some of these pieces.
“And he told me that yes, he’s often listening to music while he’s painting,” added Amdur who is reminded, “of when you watch a conductor and the baton.
“It’s almost like the movements of the baton,” Amdur said.
On one side of the artist’s booth late Saturday afternoon was the painting, “Raining Joy,” a 76” x 56” acrylic work on canvas priced at $11,500.
“He comes in with kind of an educated point of view and the technical chops to be able to execute what he wants to create,” Amdur said of Michaels.
Michaels uses purposeful brushwork that, “really carries the energy the way that the body shows energy and the way the hand moves with the brush.”
Mother’s Day was also a popular theme with timely choices for gifting including garden or lawn decor and wearable art such as scarves and jewelry.
On Saturday, Sharee Levinson of Northbrook bought geometric-shaped drop earrings made by jewelry artist Sarella Suarez of Brooklyn, New York.
Sharee Levinson of Northbrook tries on earrings made by jewelry artist Sarella Suarez of Brooklyn, New York. Levinson did buy the geomatics earrings at Northbrook Art in the Park on May 11, 2024 at Village Green Park in downtown Northbrook. (Karie Angell Luc/Pioneer Press)
Levinson had plans to spend Mother’s Day with her daughter.
To all moms, Suarez, also a goldsmith, wished them all “the best” of days at Mother’s Day and beyond.
“They make the world a better place with all their love,” Suarez said.
Karie Angell Luc is a freelancer for Pioneer Press.
