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BEN MILLER
Chicago River (River Walk) 4/3/22
Endangered Rivers Series
acrylic on polycarbonate
60 x 84 inches

This is the first truly urban fly cast painting made in the third largest city in the lower 48. On the River Walk path way there must have been over a thousand people witness at least a part of its creation. The water was slow and the painting is meant to quiet the eye as it moves across the surface. A hard implied line is set into the reflection of the building across the water playing on river’s surface. Under the DuSable Bridge held the darkest part of the stream and boats giving tours were running up and down the stream all day with the sporadic lapping of waves and bubbles to dot the top of the surface plane of the painting. The amount of hits on the this piece is perhaps the most ever created with an emphasis on a dappled effect over a strong current. The underpainting is meant to work with the compliments of the green, as red was put behind the majority of the green hits on the front to add to the intensity of the color and create a richer painting. The center of the painting reflects the earth tone titan buff building across the way and allows hits to dissipate into the majority of the green waters throughout the majority of the water. There are no stones present in this painting and that creates a uniqueness about the work that is different than other fly cast paintings that have been created.

The Chicago River has had its current shifted from dumping into the lake and putting the waste water of the city into the river as to keep the lake’s drinking water from being contaminated. From years of devastating situations of the river being abused, it has now been set to a higher standard of protection to be the cleanest and healthiest it has been in over a hundred years.