Chas Z. Mathieu Design

Every year I try to paint at least one creepy building, and this year I chose the Congress Plaza Hotel ( ). Built for the 1893 World’s Fair, it was originally known as the Auditorium Annex. Over the years the building has undergone several renovations and additions. It’s also seen its fair share of tragedy too, resulting in guests seeing spirits and other unexplained events throughout the hotel. Due to these events, the Congress Hotel has earned a reputation as being the most haunted building in Chicago. The hotel continues to operate to this day.

Swipe on thru to see some older historical photos I found while gather reference photos, as well as some WIP and close-up detail photos from this painting as well.

The original and prints of this painting (with optional glow in the dark windows) are available now on either my website or Etsy (link in bio).

Watercolor, pen and ink, colored pencil, and gelly roll on 6x9 watercolor paper.
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Happy Friday everyone! Super excited to share my latest painting in my Chicago restaurant series - Lem’s Bar-B-Q. Lem’s opened in the mid 1950s by the Lemons brothers on the Southside of Chicago and remains in the family to this day.

Lem’s has been on my list of Chicago places to paint for four or five years now, so it was a real treat to get to paint it. I fell in love with the fun playful architecture: the curved windows, slanted roof, giant smoke stack. And of course, I love some great neon signage. And between the neon and the Chicago sunset, I really had a blast capturing the lighting in this scene. More art soon.

Original 9x12 painting is available for purchase on my website. Prints in various sizes and finishes are also available for purchase.

Watercolor, Pen & Ink, colored pencils on 9x12 watercolor paper.
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