To know Edith…

You can’t help but fall for Edith Jurica. She’s magnetic. Whether the draw is her art, her beauty or her gracious manner we can’t really say—they’re that intertwined. What we do know is when she paints, people flock to watch.

From memory alone, Edith creates masterful visual stories with such detail, emotion and perspective, you’d swear she was witnessing the actual scene. But that’s not possible—because her mountain views of 1940s Bavaria and village settings from prewar Europe are being rendered from a bungalow in 2012 Berwyn or the Art League in modern-day downtown La Grange.

“I’ve had a very rich life,” says Edith, who was born in Czechoslovakia in 1922 and studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague. Forced to flee her country before the communist occupation at the end of World War II, Edith and her family spent time in Bavaria and then in Montreal before their 1965 move to Berwyn, where she has lived—and painted—ever since. At 90, Edith still paints daily—and she’s at the top of her craft.

One of the La Grange Art League’s most prolific artists and consistent sellers, Edith is adept in watercolor, oil, acrylic and pastel. Her work is currently for sale at the League’s Holiday Gift Gallery; if you’re quick, you still may be able to pick up an original. If you’re lucky, you may even get to paint with her…

Tuesday, November 13, 9:30-noon, join More Chicks Painting and guest artist Edith Jurica at La Grange Art League to paint your own original based on Edith’s A Winter’s Night. 

November 2012

Click here to read more about guest artist Mark Joyal

More Chicks Painting is proud to debut a new feature of our website and business—the Guest Artist.

Periodically, we will profile a local artist whose work captures our attention and inspires us creatively. Our hope is that in sharing Guest Artist stories and art, More Chicks Painting can connect local artists with local art lovers—and in some small way strengthen our creative community.

What’s more, each Guest Artist will add his or her own unique style and perspective to the More Chicks Painting Gallery with a featured painting. Next Guest Artist painting event: Wednesday, October 3.