Wiped away ...

Tulip field ~ cropped, Oil on canvas
©Nancy Van Blaricom

I hadn't planned on posting again today. I was just going to paint all day and show the fruits of my labor sometime next week. After working on a little 6" x 6" canvas panel for a couple of hours I could tell it just was not going to come together and I did what I'm suppose to do in that case ... wipe it off.  But, I decided to post this small portion of the canvas (the only part worth showing) as a sort of test. When I got up this morning I was surprised that my post about my sketchbooks had not been posted when I had scheduled it at 3 a.m. ( I wanted it to be delivered early so it would be there when you first checked your mail this morning).  Anyway, I hope that this will be sent out when I schedule it for 4 o'clock this afternoon ... as a test sort of.  If you receive this because you subscribe to my blog and did not receive the post about the sketchbooks please check out the blog post before this one.  Hopefully there was just a glitch because Blogger has been updating things.  Fingers are crossed.

Who I am Writing For ...

Recently I signed up for Blog Triage Class with Alyson Stanfield and Cynthia Morris.  I have Alyson's book I'd Rather be in the Studio and also follow her Art Biz Blog. And, although I've been blogging for quite awhile I know my blog needs some positive attention.  Expect some changes!

Lesson #1 asked us to write a blog post describing the type(s) of people I would like to visit and read my blog.

That person is you! My blog readers are someone who is a variety of ages and are interested in seeing my work evolve.  They enjoy my writing and probably live in the northwest or are interested in the northwest landscapes.  They look forward to my blog posts and will interact with me through email or comment on my blog when they want to say something about what they've seen or read.

Also, I'm to write about what I want to get from blogging:  My goal is to write more articulately about my work.  Share how and why I choose to paint what I do.  Also to build a larger audience who like my work.

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Now on to some more exciting news.  After I painted the two shells on the right (in the photo below), I decided to paint some other shells I found on the beach.  A muscle shell and an oyster shell.  All 4 of these shell paintings are small 3.5" x 3.5" x 1/2" and just perfect to set on small easels or hang as a grouping.  One of my collectors saw one of the original blog posts about the shell paintings and contacted me to purchase them.  Isn't the internet wonderful?  Thank you D.B. !  

When I originally painted them I had no thought of ever painting more shell paintings, but now after talking with my collector I think I may keep some of these in stock for people to purchase as a last minute as a low cost gift. A nice small original at an affordable price.  Everyone needs to own original art work don't you think?

Excuse the poor quality of this photo.  I think I'm in the need of a small photo booth.

© 2012, Nancy Van Blaricom ~ 4 Small Shell Paintings~ oil on board3.5" x 3.5" x 1/2"

* SOLD *

Follow ups and my Art Talk Group Meetings

~Art Talk Group Meeting~

I have been involved with numerous art groups since I started my artistic journey and I always gain something from the involvement. During the last 3 years I've been involved in a small art group that is different from any I've joined before. We keep membership to 13 (one married couple), keeping it to one hosted meeting per member for the year. Our members are varied in interests and participation. We start our meeting with the host serving wine and appetizers then after a few minutes of chit chat we one by one start sharing what we've done since the last meeting. One member is a potter and wood turner, another a sewer, another a knitter, Sumi artist, watercolor artists, oil painter ... there are a few who are not artists at all but non-the-less interested in art and share art books they may have read or where a new show may be opening etc.  Some meetings, like the one above, someone shares crafted items they purchased on a recent trip. Occasionally we will forgo the sit down meeting for a class one of us will teach - no wine until after those meetings. Our meetings last about 2 hours and we always leave inspired by someone or something. It is truly the best art group I've ever been involved with. I always feel so motived when the meeting is over.

Follow-up:  Last Saturday I enjoyed teaching a watercolor workshop here on the island. I had 4 beginning students and all were enthusiastic and fun to have in my class.  I had every intention of taking some photos but the four hours were gone before I knew it.  I always love being involved with others at these community events, catching up with old friends and making new one.

Also: Do you remember the snow scene I painted a while back? Well I have been working on a larger version of the same scene, 24" x 36".  I'm really enjoying working this large for a change and so far I'm happy with it. I should be finished next week sometime and I'm anxious to share it with you.  

Stay tuned .....

Some days are not as inspiring than others

Last night on the news they showed how warm most of the country is.  

Uhhhh, not here in the Pacific Northwest ... just the opposite infact. 

This morning about 9 o'clock, heading into town, this is what we encountered.  Snow! 

About 20 miles from us they are expecting 6 inches of snow today!

We all have daffodils up and ready to show their bright sunny faces, but I think its going to be a little while longer before they open up.  Good thing I bought a couple of dozen cut one the other day.

I've made a decision ...

In my last blog post I asked for help in naming my painting of a barn.  I had painted the barn during a workshop in California last summer. Sylviane gave me what I thought was a great suggestion when she said "Sure,it's hard to name something after, but if you know where it was, you can give the place's name, for instance, or invente one?".  How simple is that?  Well, it sounded simple when I first thought about it.  I was at a workshop and we were painting from an old school yard in Douglas Flat.  That didn't sound too good to me.  "Douglas Flat Barn".  Kinda boring sounding to me, but then I decided that since my workshop was really in  Murphys I decided to title it "Murphys Barn".  That sounds pretty good doesn't it?  Thank you Sylviane that was a perfect solution and one I hope I will remember to use when needed.

~Click to enlarge ~

Other news I want to share with you is that this coming March 17th, (yes, thats St. Patrick's Day), I will be teaching a Watercolor Workshop here at Harstine Island.  The woman's club is offering 7 different classes to the public and I was fortunate to be asked to teach that day.  If you can join us make sure and call the phone number listed to reserve your spot.

Asking for help ...

I'm in the process of updating my files and organizing my database.  I'm not sure under what category I'll put this painting in but I would like to give it a title.  I should have named this when I was painting it but just couldn't think of anything but getting paint on canvas, and, now nothing comes to mind.  

So, will you help me and give me some suggestions, please?

Summer Heat and Dry Grasses

Summer Dry Grasses © 8" x 6" ~ oil

Gessoed primed canvas panel

Last summer, on our way to Murphys California for a workshop with Kathleen Dunphy, we encountered a lot of country that the grasses were parched by the sun and you'd feel like you were in an oven.  Once in awhile you'd find a gentle wind but more often than not there wasn't even a flutter of a breeze.

I used one, of many, of my photos as reference for this painting and it brought back a lot of memories of just how hot and dry it was.

A Study for a larger painting

Almost Home ~ oil 9" x 12" 

I'm calling this one done, I'm also calling this one a 'study'.  I've been wanting to paint this snow scene  for a while now but on a larger format perhaps a 24" x 36" canvas. This one is 9" x 12" and large for me considering most of my oils have been 8" x 10" or smaller. I started out by doing a few value studies (below), just thinking of where I wanted to go with this one.  I know it helped to do the studies in marker and the Bic pen because I was mentally prepared going in and now I think I will feel much more confident going into the large painting.

Value studies from my sketch book.  On the left I used a sepia Bic pen and on the right a black Sharpie and a cool grey Prismacolor marker.

Below a little collection of heart shaped rocks I've collected, to tell you Happy Valentines day.... Yeah I know I'm early, but I'm going to spend my Valentines day getting my teeth cleaned and saying hello to my dentist.

Sea Shell Study #2

Since I have few more of these little wood blocks I thought I'd do another Sea Shell Study.  Again it's on a 3.5" x 3.5" x 3/4" block.

I used basically the same color palette, although in this one I saw that while looking at the shell there was a tad bit of green on the upper right hand part of the shell.  I thought of it as a little prize when I found it.  An unexpected surprise.

Each shell, even though they may look the same at first glance, has something a little different than the other.  I also liked this one to use as a prop because of the small chip in its other wise beautiful shell.

Sea Shell Study #2 - oil on wood 3.5" x 3.5" wood block

         

                                                              

And then there were two.

I really like these small paintings displayed on the small wood easels.  A great way to show them off.  I was so excited to paint another shell study that I completely neglected to do some thumbnails before I started painting.  I think it really pays off for me to sketch before I start painting.

Sea Shell Study

This painting is pretty small, only 3.5" x 3.5" on wood, approximately 3/4" thick.  I purposely left them sort of rough to give them more character.  I have a number of these small blocks that I gessoed a while back.  I love how they really showcase a single object like the sea shell below and how they look on a small easel.  I think these would make a great small item to give as a gift.

Sea Shell Study 3.5" x 3.5" oil

The photo above shows the depth of the painting on the easel. 

This photo gives you an idea of size. 

Here you can see some of the sketches I did prior to working in oils.

Re-works

I decided to work on some paintings that I didn't think were painted as well as I had hoped.  The first one  I had started a long, long, time ago, back in 2007 (make sure and read both the blog post from the 24th and the 26th ... funny thing happened... has that ever happened to you?)
I worked on it a little yesterday and just couldn't seem to get the sky and the trail into the dense wooded area to look right, so I eliminated that darn awkward fence that was in the middle of the painting and just made a path and more brush.

  
8" x 10" oil

I like the bottom one - the after one -best, but I'm still not sure this is what I was hoping for when I started it back in June 2007.

6" x 8" Potted Primrose - oil

Also, I thought my primrose painting looked awkward with the blossoms and the leaves in the back upper left sticking up... even though this is what the plant looked like with I started painting.  I painted over what I didn't like and reworked a couple of flowers.  What do you think?  Maybe now its too perfect?

So what about you:

• Do you always let your painting set for a week or more to see how they read to you before you post them either on your blog or web-site?
• So you ever re-work a painting that is from a couple of years ago?
• Do you just put the paintings you don't like into the garbage or do you save them and try to do something with them at a later date?

The latest goings-on

Surrounded by Vines 7" x 14" oil on gallery wrapped canvas

This is a painting I just completed.  I took the reference photo a few years ago while we were boating up in British Columbia.  The original photo shows a lot of water below, but this was what I was thinking when I took the photo.  All that green with the bright white of the house in the sun just spoke to me.

I love the size of this one.  I had bought a couple of these to try awhile back.  I think I'll be buying a few more to have on hand when the right scene comes along.

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Cherries from Chauvet's Orchard

by Ruth Phillips

Recently while reading an art blog (I can't remember who's blog it was now) I read about a book they were in the middle of reading.  This is a book written by the wife of Julian Merro-Smith of the Postcard from Provence blog, Ruth Phillips.  

After reading an excerpt of the book on Amazon I decided to purchase it. As soon as it arrived I found I could hardly put it down.  She is an excellent writer.  If you are looking for a new book to read I recommend this one. I know I will re-read this one a few times.

This is the book description from Amazon:

This is When an English painter moves to Provence in search of the muse, he is looking not only for artistic fulfillment but also for love, family and community. This funny and touching memoir chronicles his unconventional route towards almost everything he desires, whilst painting a vivid picture of how hard it can be for one man to face a blank canvas - even in paradise.

Potted Primrose

Potted Primrose 6" x 8" canvas 

I bought these primroses day before yesterday, when I was at the grocery store, for $1.50 apiece.  I only bought one ... now I wish I would have bought a yellow and a blue one also to use as a prop.  Wouldn't that be a nice to have all three framed on a wall?  I like how I can see some of the toned canvas here and there through out the painting.  Dang, I may need to go back to the store for the other two colors ....

Hang it, Dang it!

Click image to enlarge ~ Arakawa wall hanging system

My husband has always wanted me to hang more of my work in our home, but I just didn't want nail holes all over the place. I have one large painting in the living room, a group of 3 small ones in a guest bedroom and thats it. This year, for Christmas, we bought a wall hanging system to hang my work from and I love it. I can change my paintings as often as I want with out worry of damaging the walls.

When we lived in Oregon, the local Columbia Center was where the local art guild had all of our art shows.  The Center researched hanging systems and found Arakawa, in Portland Oregon to purchase a wall hanging system. We could have monthly shows with out hurting any of the walls.  Because I knew the quality of the product, when we were ready to purchase a hanging system I thought of Arakawa.   The rail is hung high on the wall, wires are slid into the rail and placed anywhere you want.  You can use as many wires as you need to hang your work from.  Its a great quality hanging system and if you are in the market for such a thing I highly recommend them.  I'm thrilled with it.

Wishing you the very best for 2012.

Back Yard Snow ...

Back Yard Snow 8" x 6" Oil

With only a few days left until 2011 comes to an end I wanted to paint one last painting before the new year, something wintery.  Looking through a stack of old photos I found a view of our back yard in a house we lived in before we moved here, a winter scene filled with snow.  Our back yard (at the time) butted up to a 20 acre forest and a trail from our back yard ran through the forest and led to a creek then on back home.  In the summer time the forest was a cool place to hike when it was hot outside.  This view is just to the left of the trail.

All comments and critique are welcome.

Before the end of the year...

I'm pretty happy with myself in the fact that during this busy time of year I have not used that as an excuse not to paint.   I am still going forward and working toward becoming a better oil painter.  During this last week ... well, since I completed the red ornament painting, I now have another finished oil to add to the first.

Reflections of Silver ~ 5" x 7" ~ oil

After I completed the red ornament painting I thought I should start another one right away so that what new skills I had used wouldn't be forgotten.  Again, I'm happy with what I've produced.  Although the painting I did with the red was nice, I think I'm liking this one better.  Maybe its the warm browns and blue combination.  Then again maybe its because I had so much fun seeing shapes and painting what I saw.

I think I may try one more holiday painting before the end of the year ..... but not until after some gifts are wrapped.

On another note, one of  the blogs I frequent is by a wonderful Oregon artist named Marla Baggetta, her work is beautiful and I love the way she writes.  In this post I really felt she was talking to me ....

Being Kind to Yourself

We beat ourselves up most of the time. If only we viewed ourselves like we view our own friends, we'd be better off. Quieting our voice of judgment and giving ourselves credit for what is working in our work and building on that. We are quick to find what is "wrong" and then discount the whole. We are fast at niggling away at those areas in our work and in life that aren't perfect. Well, perfection is a state of balance that to me, simply does not exist... Be nice to yourself, be slow to find error and quick to find the good. Be as patient with yourself as you would be to a good friend. You are your own best friend. Then, remember to paint, paint some more and then after that, paint!!!

Do you think she was singling me out?

I'm happy ...

Reflections ~ 5"x7"~ oil

I've painted a holiday painting and I'm happy with it.  Two amazing things when you think about it.

I have two of these small inexpensive panels measuring 5" x 7".  I thought it would be nice to use them both for ornament paintings.

Its amazing all the reflections you can see in a round object.  It really makes you focus your attention on shapes, not named objects.  I really enjoyed painting this one.  I'm happy .....

Reflecting ...

Reflect :   Verb  

1.  The snow reflects light ... (send back).

2.  Their expressions reflected their feelings .... (indicate).

3.  He reflected on his responsibilities ... (think about).

Lately, I'm sure it's because of the holidays, I keep seeing more and more artists painting reflected surfaces in their work.  Bright, shiny objects. Pretty sparkling reflections in shiny objects.  Being new to oil painting I thought I'd better do some practicing before I attempt to paint a reflection on canvas so I decided to do the 10 minute exercise to get me use to painting reflections.  

oil on paper

In the first group of painting exercises I didn't even start out top to bottom or left to right.  I had this lone red ornament sitting on a white paper towel.   Looking back on these now I see my number #1 wasn't as bad as I originally thought and my number #4 wasn't as good as I thought.  I like the reflection in  number #1 best I think.  "Reflecting" on it now, seeing the results, I'm more confident in giving this another try.  Maybe on canvas this time.

oil on paper

Hmmm, what can I say about this second group of reflected surface exercises?  When I showed this to my husband he said he was glad I told him what it was because he didn't recognize it as our sterling silver pepper shaker.  I had placed a piece of cardboard behind the pepper shaker and it was sitting on a paper towel.  Remember that in these exercises you are allowed 10 minutes and no pre drawing, so that is my excuse for having them look like they were bent and broken.  Needless to say, #4 was no better than number #1.  I'm gunna leave these out of my painting.  If you own it and you still don't recognize the object after it's painted ... its best to move on.

Counting our blessings

Happy Thanksgiving to you all.

This time of year I need to reflect and ask myself some questions.  Do you take the time to feel gratitude through-out the year, not just on Thanksgiving?  When a friend calls, a loved one drops by, or when you are able to share a meal with others.  The list goes on and on.  I am so grateful for you all ... that you come back time and again and show interest in my life.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Art ... under your feet

Have you noticed, I've been away.  Not doing any art, but instead I've been taking a lot of inspiring photo's.  I thought these three were worth sharing with you all.  Can you imagine living with this beautiful tile work beneath your feet as you go about your business during the day? Even on a rainy day they make life look brighter.

Now I'm back to the real world where my calendar tells me that our local holiday bazaar is this next week-end and I still need to prepare some things for that, orders are coming in for Christmas cards using the note cards from the house portraits that I sold during the local art show earlier this year and I still have a list of works I can't wait to oil paint.  Can you tell I'm going to be busy, busy, busy?