Navy Pier

Yesterday I headed to Chicago for the monthly meet up with Urban Sketchers Chicago at Navy Pier. I live in the South suburbs of Chicago and I would normally drive to downtown Chicago or North of Chicago. It's well known here that Chicago has 2 different seasons, winter and construction. I had terrible traffic the last two rides to the Windy City and you cannot avoid feeling stressed or overwhelmed. My husband told me to take the train to the city. The transit would be longer but stress free. I can take two different trains, Metra, the one I know very well, and Amtrak the one new for me. So I adventured the Amtrak train which final destination in Chicago is the Union Station. Once there I visited the Grand Hall and oh boy! How magnificent this building is, never being there before I truly enjoyed the grandeur! 

Next, I took a CTA bus straight to Navy Pier. I met the Urban Sketcher members there. I was about to enjoy a promising good enough weather to sketch outdoors day. My first sketch was the Ferris wheel carousel on the second level. It was windy but some others sketchers and I managed to sketch comfortably.

I used a small sketchbook to allow myself more time to add watercolor, once done I turned around and the view of the city of Chicago was gorgeous. I sketched first the skyline and left the buildings in blank to create some contrast. The weather was getting worse, I think that my discomfort is reflected in dark the color of the sky. It's a skill to be able to capture the mood of a place but here I captured my mood!  Can we do that? Ha! I spent a great day with this group, it was nice to see again familiar faces and meet new people. Public transportation in the city rocks, it made my day stress free.