6/21/25 BLUE MOON GALLERY'S "BIG SUMMER SHOW" Opening Reception 6-9pm -- Features 16 artists -- On View Until 7/19/25

Les Scott -- Dialog du Vent et des Nuages (scratchboard & ink)...Scroll down to view more art from this show... 

Blue Moon Gallery, 18620 Belvidere Road in Grayslake IL is thrilled to announce its BIG SUMMER SHOW opening this Saturday, June 21st, with a reception from 6-9pm where the public can view several exhibitions of fine art created by local Chicagoland artists, enjoy some wine, live music, and socialize around the gallery's fire pit. The event is free and open to the public. 

"We are really excited about our BIG SUMMER SHOW! We are featuring several solo shows from award-winning local artists from throughout Chicagoland, including painter Jan Schrader (Naperville), scratchboard artist Les Scott (Gurnee), and multi-disciplinary artist Michael Litewski (Zion), plus a group exhibition titled "Artistic Dialogues" showcasing a wide variety of encaustic artwork created by member artists of the esteemed encaustic art group FUSEDChicago.

"We're also hosting a one-night-only pop-up show outside (weather permitting) featuring super-sized paintings of trains created by Waukegan artist, Tom Pedersen, and a tabletop show by Dave Clausen of Hainesville displaying the exquisite world of woodturning, including vases, bowls, and platters," said Kendra Kett, Blue Moon Gallery Director. 

"We continue to be so proud to bring our community the very best artists there are in all of Northern Illinois and throughout the Chicagoland metro area and to share their unique artistry, talent, and expression with our guests and visitors," said Kendra Kett, Blue Moon Gallery director and owner. 

"FUSEDChicago is back for the second time after a very successful show in 2023 and this is Les Scott's fourth exhibition with us. Both the FUSEDChicago artist group and Les Scott are very popular with our patrons so we want to encourage everyone to come on out early in the evening on June 21st to meet these artists and experience their amazing visual language." 

FUSEDChicago is an organization of artists in the Midwest who share an interest in encaustic, a method of making art using pigmented wax fused to a surface by heat. All artist members of FUSEDChicago create art partly or entirely from encaustic. FUSEDChicago artists are painters, sculptors, printmakers, and photographers who bring contemporary sensibilities to their art and use modern technology in creating their work. Many members are inspired by the qualities of wax itself - the brilliance of its colors, its tactility and malleability, the luminescence of wax layers, and the textural possibilities of its surface.

The FUSEDChicago "Artist Dialogues" exhibition illustrates the expansive possibilities the encaustic medium has. Artists were asked to submit two pieces that speak to each other using two different encaustic techniques (e.g., painting, accretion, photo transfer, monotype, etc). The exciting results are two-fold: a dialogue between the artist and the viewer and a dialogue between the two pieces, which can be interpreted as stand-alone or as a diptych.

PARTICIPATING ARTISTS: Helen Dannelly, Bob Fesser, Paula Hiller, Laura LaRue, Cindy Lesperance, Jane Michalski, Carol L. Myers, Michele Thrane, and Neli Tzintzeva.  

The gallery is also thrilled to welcome solo artist Jan Schrader whose original abstract paintings reflect three major influences: Mid-Century and Contemporary Architecture, Asian art, particularly Zen minimalism, and jazz music. Schrader says "I love the clean lines, originality, and non-conformity of mid-century design. Plus, I’m a huge jazz fan and, to me, abstract art is jazz on canvas. Like jazz, abstract art is limitless, without boundaries. It is free form and open for creative riffs. I often start with a very basic plan — or none at all — and improvise as I go along." 

Schrader uses heavy textures with metallic and high gloss paints to create interesting surfaces that change in appearance as the light in the room changes, too. Schrader's "Canvas Jazz" show is filled with bold and striking "take your breath away" highly unique and meditative paintings featuring gold, silver, and bronze paint, thick layers, and inviting textures. 

Les Scott returns to the Blue Moon for his fourth exhibition bringing with him a new collection of fresh, vibrant, colorful, and highly detailed scratchboard compositions. Unlike most art forms that are additive, scratchboard art stands out due to the artist's ability to create intricate details and textures through the process of removal. 

Scott is a master scratchboard artist of more than two decades and is a member of the International Society of Scratchboard Artists. Scott says "Scratchboard art requires patience. I never hurry and I believe my discipline is reflected in both the composition and detail of each piece I create.”  

The gallery is eager to launch its only summer pop-up show this season on June 21st featuring Waukegan artist Tom Pedersen. Pedersen is known for his super-sized canvases of brightly colored trains which he will be sharing "on the bricks" at the Blue Moon. Wine will be served and Brian Garoutte (Grayslake) of The Background Memory will perform live ambient music. The gallery's firepit will be going which makes for lively socializing and getting to know artists and new people in the community.  

The gallery's resident artists, Michael Litewski, Dave Clausen, Juli Janovicz (Kenosha), and Kendra Kett (Gurnee), will also be sharing new artwork at the opening reception. For more information about the Opening Reception on June 21st or to learn more about the gallery and other upcoming events, visit http://www.thebluemoongallery.com   

Tom Pedersen -- Steam Pink (acrylic)

Cindy Lesperance -- Butterfly 2 (encaustic)

Dave Clausen -- the beauty of woodturning (sandblasted ash) 

Bob Fesser -- Summertime 1 (encaustic)