Sunday, November 11, 2012

The Story Teller

The Story Teller, 6" x 6" oil, © 2012 Nancy Van Blaricom

A few years ago, Inquiring Minds  offered our community a lecture given by a native american storyteller for the afternoon.  Her tribe had given her the title of Storyteller and she was excellent in this position.  

I became inspired to paint her when I saw how animated she was in her button blanket cape as she told the stories that had been passed down to her. 

I learn something 
from most of the paintings I do... sometimes it's not so obvious other times like one its very obvious to me.  While working on this painting I learned I don't need a tube of black paint if painting something very dark because you can mix your own very dark, dark gray by mixing red, and blue to make purple then slowly adding small amounts of yellow to make a black that I was happy with.  Whoda thunk?



The Inquiring Mind Speakers Bureau offers libraries, museums, schools and community organizations an opportunity to bring some of Washington’s finest scholars, authors, musicians and actors to local communities for engaging and entertaining educational programs. Since its inception in 1984, it has impacted tens of thousands of Washingtonians in virtually every corner of the state.





4 comments:

  1. wonderfully expressive piece...love the reds and your great hint about mixing black!

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  2. A nice subject to paint, Nancy. And I always like to hear other artists' way to mix black.

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  3. I love pieces that tell a story and yours does. Capturing movement is difficult but you've done it well.

    Colour mixing is something everyone should experiment with before reaching for a tube that may represent what they want. A limited palette can perform wonders with careful colour mixing.

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  4. This is a wonderful, expressive painting, Nancy. I love the story that you shared.

    I first learned to mix up a black by mixing ultramarine, alizaron crimson, and sap green. Sounds strange, doesn't it?

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