My 12 favorite paintings of 2013

I'm not a prolific painter by any means, but, in checking my records I see I produced 56 paintings this year. 14 of which were small shell paintings on wood blocks, 2 watercolors and the rest were oils.  Part of the reason for the large amount ( for me its large anyway ) was that in January I entered a 30 paintings in 30 day challenge.  Believe me they were not all great paintings but some were worth keeping and tweaking on to improve. Some even ended up on my favorite list.

Here, in no particular order, are 12 of my favorites paintings with some comments on what I liked about the piece:

On the left was a typical scene from our boat travels into British Columbia.  I can picture myself there now by looking at that painting. I love how I've captured the fog and the hills.  This is B.C. to me.

The painting on the right is a local scene.  I am happy with the atmosphere I created in the sky with the clouds in a bright blue summer sky.

I was pleased with both of these two florals I painted.  I was challenged with them both because I wasn't use to painting flowers, ruffles with highs and lows creating depth of each petal. I think I'll try more florals.  I didn't realize how much I liked pink until I painted these … I guess thats part of the reason I liked the beets I painted also.  I thought the color combination was really nice here.

I liked the dappled sun I created in the painting on the left above.  I think I tweaked with both of these paintings and made them worth keeping but in my rush to post the 12 favorites I didn't take the time to find the finished photograph of them.  

The painting on the right made the favorite list because it not only brought back memories of the event but that I was able to paint the gesture of the 'Story Teller'.

I was really pleased with the atmosphere in the painting on the left above.  

I thought I captured the  essence of the location.  

I thought I did a good job with the rocky beach of another scene from B.C.  I like the trees also.

Maybe the cow made my list of favorites because I thought it really did look like so many of the cows I've seen.  I liked the way I didn't make the grass detailed, also I like seeing the sun on her.

The center painting is typical of my small shell block paintings … I like them all so it was hard to pick out one favorite.  This one is 6" x 6" on canvas.   Last, but not least for sure, is a painting of a little ceramic bird I picked up in a second hand store many years ago.  It really isn't that cute but for some reason I hang on to it.  I placed it on a cardboard box and when I finished painting it I felt after many tries through-out the years, I had finally captured the look of this bird.

I'd love to hear which is your favorite of these 12 paintings and why.  

Research Vessel, 16" x 20"

Research Vessel, 16" . 20", oil on stretched canvas, © 2013 Nancy Van Blaricom

Living near the shoreline in south puget sound I see a lot of different boats traveling through these waters.  This particular boat was owned by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and they were just heading out to do some research on the six gill shark.  

Have you ever heard of a six gill shark?  It was new to us.  Read more about it through the link above.

Some thoughts on this painting:

I am very pleased that I was able to keep this painting like the vision I had for it.. When I started this one I wanted to make sure and keep the trees and bushes in the background.  Keeping their edges soft and not hard or sharp keeps them less in the focus of the painting.  That part of the painting basically painted itself.

Also, I was pleased that I managed to do some editing in my reference photo, eliminating a house that was in the background as well as editing the shoreline adding some boulders to the shore.

I felt while painting this one I achieved some  growth … and when that happens I am encouraged to start another painting.

Hanging small works …

I love it when one of my collectors sends me photos with my work hanging on their walls.

Recently one of my collectors sent me these photo's of some small shell paintings she had recently purchased.  Don't you think these look great?

 5 paintings of my Shell Series, Oil on wood block, © 2013 Nancy Van Blaricom

When you have a number of small items to hang there is always the question 'do I hang one or two together and hang the others on another wall' ….. or even hang them in another room.

I think she came up with the perfect solution to hang them vertically between two doors where there is just a few inches of space.

I love the look of these all hanging one on top of the other.

 5 paintings of my Shell Series, Oil on wood block, © 2013 Nancy Van Blaricom

Do you ever have small works to hang and you don't quite know where to hang them?

Just off the easel….

I don't often paint florals but when I saw these beautiful peonies I couldn't wait to see if I could capture the delicate and exquisite beauty of their dainty pink petals. Can you tell peonies are my very favorite flowers?

Three Peonies, 10" x 10", Oil on canvas, © 2013 Nancy Van Blaricom

 Side view of Three Peonies, 10" x 10", Oil on canvas, © 2013 Nancy Van Blaricom

Recently I purchased a few gallery wrapped 10" x 10" canvases.  I like the idea of not having to frame a painting in order to show it to the public.

I love to see a beautifully framed painting, yet, frames are as much a personal choice as the painting itself.  I usually frame my paintings inexpensively just to be able to show the work … affordable framing. I think passing on that price to the purchaser is better than me framing it in an expensive frame and having to pass on that price only to have the buyer reframe the work in an expensive frame of their choice.

I always offer to sell my work unframed … maybe by using the gallery wrapped canvas people can live with the art until they can make up their mind as to which frame would suit the painting best.

What are your thoughts to the framing issues?  do you always buy work pre framed.  Would you buy an unframed work and have it framed later?  I would love to hear your thoughts on framing…..

Autumn fun ...

Autumn Scarecrow, watercolor, © Nancy Van Blaricom

We've had some beautiful weather here in the northwest with lovely yellow and gold leaves from the maple trees falling all around us.  It seems fitting that I should re-post this painting from quite a few years ago when I was mostly painting with watercolor.

Have a great Halloween.

About a year ago ...

Mini Pumpkin, 6" x 8", oil on panel, © Nancy Van Blaricom

My husband and I spent our morning raking up maple leaves from around our property.  It was a beautiful sunny day and just seeing all the pretty colors reminded me of a painting I did about a year ago.

What I really like about this small painting is the orange and blue together. Don't you think they are great compliments to each other?

Its just around the corner ...

Can you believe its already the middle of October? 

Lately I've been working towards having everything ready, well in advance, for our local holiday bazaar ...  each year its scheduled for the week-end after Thanksgiving and even though I know this I usually find that I'm still framing pieces or stuffing note cards in clear envelopes at midnight the night before. This year I've decided everything will be ready well in advance ... So far, so good. 

Each year I like to come up with something in a couple of different price range so that most anyone can afford an original piece of art for their home.  Last year I painted shells onto small 3.5" x 3.5" x 1/2" woodblocks. Each shell I painted I had found on our local beach, so each were very original.  

This year I'm working on a couple of original oil paintings I hope to finish for the show as well as another little item that might be of interest to some.  But ... until I know if it will be a good idea or not ... shhh, I'll have to keep it a secret.

Block shell paintings, oil on wood block, 3.5" x 3.5" x 1/2"

 © Nancy Van Blaricom 

Here are 4 of the 20 shell paintings I've finished for the bazaar.
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On another note: Our weather has been beautiful the last couple of days & is promising to be great the rest of this week. Our local maple trees are gorgeous. Today was so pretty we decided to go to Theler Wetlands, about 24 miles away.  It was a beautiful sunny day.

These photos were taken a few years ago when we took the same trail as today.  Isn't it beautiful?

I hope your autumn weather is as good.

 Low tide in the wetland.

Beautiful colors in the marsh ... as well as a 

Grea Blue Heron sunning himself ... in the lower left hand corner.

The Art of a Sketchbook - September

The other day I decided to walk to the waters edge and do some sketching instead of my usual 2 mile walk.  It was only 9 a.m. yet it was already showing signs that it was going to be a warm day.  With the sun in my face and my eyes squinting I was able to do one landscape sketch and two other sketches of nearby objects.

Looking south from the beach.

Cedar branch.

Dried leaves on the beach.

Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival

Recently we've had some really lovely weather here in the Northwest and a week ago today we decided to attend the 37th anniversary of the  Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival, about 90 miles away.  It was amazing.  Lots of people, lots of vendors, lots of food and lots of wooden boats.

Point Hudson boat basin.

A lot of boats are decorated with pretty bouquets of flowers,
either on their bow or stern.  Such a pretty sight with the beautiful polished wood.

For me one of the highlights of the day was when I spotted this plein air painter on the beach.

Periodically throughout the day I would go back to where he was painting and see how he was progressing.

And I was happy that I returned just as he was putting the finishing touches on his painting.

Ahhh, a beautiful painting to show for his hours of standing on the beach.

The end of our day we were rewarded with this view of boats sailing in the bay.

Mussels in a Group

I have been preparing for a holiday show that is the Saturday after Thanksgiving each year.

More often than not I find myself still working on framing or printing long after midnight the night before.  This year I'm ahead of schedule.  I have all my cards printed and most of my paintings ready to share.

This is a small 6" x 6" painting of Mussels to go along with the small wood block shell paintings I do.

Group of Mussels, 6" x 6", Oil on stretched canvas
© 2013 Nancy Van Blaricom

Side view of stretch canvas

My taboret ...

A number of months ago I purchased this wonderful cart at a garage sale in hopes of using it as a taboret  in my studio.  It works wonderfully. It glides across the floor so smoothly you wouldn't believe it, and look, it has 4 large drawers to store a lot of goodies in.

My taboret ...

My taboret cart neatly put away when not in use...

When I'm not using the taboret I am able to keep it at the end of my all purpose table with my brushes, most used tubes of paint and my palette sitting on top of it.

It has nice big drawers to store art supplies ...

Taboret almost in place....

When I am using the taboret I turn it sideways in front of my easel along with my palette. 

In order to paint from this distance I need to hold my brush by the end (not close to the ferrel) just to reach the painting.   I don't know if I would ever have been able to make that a habit with out the aid of my taboret.

Taboret in front of easel ...

In place and ready to start using it ...

What about you ... do you have a taboret?  Do you use it like I do, in front of you to help remind you to paint by holding the end of your brush?

The Art of a Sketchbook - Friday

Hi, Happy Friday to you all.  

We've had a lot of rain in the last few hours and when I looked outside I saw that the rain had broken a couple of these beautiful pink geranium flowers off so I went and gathered them up and put them into a vase.  I thought they would make a fun contour drawing in my favorite sketchbook, (the one with smooth paper from Barnes & Noble) for this weeks blog post, (you can click on the photo to enlarge it).

So, tell me have you been sketching?  Have I encouraged some of you to get your pencil and sketchbook & try sketching more than you use to?  I hope so because that is why I started 'The Art of a Sketchbook - Friday'.  I've really enjoyed sharing my sketchbooks with you.  Showing you that you do not need to follow any guideline ...  just get that sketchbook out and sketch with your pen, pencil, pastel, watercolor, whatever you feel comfortable with. 

With this post I've decided to slow down on 'The Art of a Sketchbook - Friday's' blog entries. For the time being I will post my sketchbook pages once a month instead of my usual weekly posts.  Please continue to sketch and then share your sketches with people. 

Until the next The Art of a Sketchbook sometime in September, happy sketching!

The Art of a Sketchbook - Friday

Three Sketches from three different days ....

I have a little ceramic bird I found in a thrift shop years ago.  I sketch him a lot but I don't seem to ever get the proportions right ... but I keep on trying.

I found this little Disney Mickey Mouse on the Oregon coast years ago.

This salt shaker is always in my studio.  It is mostly used for watercolor effects on wet paper.

There ya have it.  Three different sketches, three different days all from the same sketchbook... my favorite one with the nice smooth paper.  It's the 6" x 9" I bought at Barnes & Noble.

Mum's the Word ...

Orange Mum in a Spice Jar ...

 Orange Mum in a Spice Jar, 8" x 6", Oil on panel, © 2013, Nancy Van Blaricom

I think I mentioned to you that I was going to be doing more study where my oil works are concerned... Such as ... think about how to paint each subject as I paint it, how to use my brushes and what kind of brush strokes they make, etc.   

On this painting I set out thinking about brush strokes. How brush strokes in every direction suggest atmosphere.  Across suggests softness, down generally suggesting hard. 

On the easel ...

I set the little jar and a fake mum on a wood surface. Turned off the lights (in these photos the studio lights are on) in my studio and only had light coming from a window that was very near by, natural light.  When I first started the painting I had it on a little higher surface closer to eye level, but today when I re-visited it I just set it up on what was near-by.  I had to rework the glass spice jar and just a little work the background.

The easel and set-up...

I felt with this painting I have made a break-through.  I began this painting by focusing on brush work, I didn't try to finish this in one sitting, I accomplished most brush work by holding my brush at the end not close to the ferrel, which has been almost impossible for me before. I tried to focus on shapes I was seeing and colors as well.  

My favorite things about this painting: I like the reflections on the wood surface and the shine on the glass.

The Art of a Sketchbook - Friday

Harold Speed :

"It is not enough to drink in and remember the emotional side of the matter, although this must be done fully, but if a memory of the subject is to be carried away that will be of service technically, the scene must be committed to memory in terms of whatever medium you intend to employ for reproducing it - in the case of a drawing, lines and tones. And the impression will have to be analyzed into these terms as if you were actually drawing the scene on some imagined piece of paper in your mind.  The faculty of doing this is not to be acquired all at once, but it is amazing of how much development it is capable.  Just as the faculty of committing to memory long poems or plays can be developed, so can the faculty of remembering visual things."

This is a quote I read not too long ago and decided to see just how much of a small outside patio table I would be able to sketch from memory.

I chose a simple object for my experiment and took a few moments to try to memorize the table.  It was  a bright sunny day and I tried to remember where the light was hitting it ... and where the shade was on the table.  Then two days later I sketched it from memory.

I thought this was a great experiment,  I remembered where the light hit the table but not where or how the shadow looked as it hit the ground or the shape of the ellipse of the base. I had started to sketch one of the chairs but realized early on I had not given enough thought to the chairs to even remember what they really looked like.

I'm going make an effort to try sketching more often from memory.  This will require me to pay more attention to what is before me.  

I took this picture today,when it is gray and cloudy, but it will give you an idea of the size and shape of the table I attempted to sketch from memory.

Do you think this is perhaps what is meant when they say "learning to see like an artist"?

Give it a try and let me know how you do sketching from memory.

Taking the week off...

I'm taking this week off from blogging.  
I'll return next week with my regular 
Art of a Sketchbook - Friday post.

Enjoy your week-end ... try to squeeze some sketching into it.

The Art of a Sketchbook - Friday

"You can't do sketches enough.
Sketch everything and keep your curiosity fresh."

~John Singer Sargent                      

This week I have a couple of sketches I did recently.  I saw some sunglasses on my desk and sketched them in my  6" x 9", Aquabee Super Deluxe sketchbook.   Again, not my favorite sketch book ... you can see through the page that I have sketched something on the back of that page.  This paper is rough and not the smooth paper I prefer.

I'm still working on trying to fill up this sketchbook so I sketched my thumb on the same page as I had glued a sketch of an eye.

As John Singer Sargent say's ...  "You can't do sketches enough.  Sketch everything and keep your curiosity fresh."

The Art of a Sketchbook - Friday

Back on July 5th I posted about Charles Reid and his method of contour drawing.  And although I don't do much watercoloring any more, another one of his books you might enjoy is Charles Reid's Watercolor Secrets.  All of the photographs of his work, in this book, are from his sketchbooks.

Charles Reid's Watercolor Secrets can be found on Amazon... follow the link.

On my desk ... This book has little tid-bits for the artist such as the tips below.

I like this one as well because I'm always obsessed with back grounds.

And about color ....

And what about this ...  shadow shapes.

On another note ....  I can't believe how fast summer is passing by.  I've been busy reading, mostly art books such as Harold Speed's book Practice and Science of Drawing as well as a couple of mysteries thrown in for those lazy days ... (have you read any of the Jack Reacher books) ??? As well as short boating trips, working in our yard and enjoying our friends.  Life is good!

Yesterday we had to take our cat, Odessa, into the vet.  She seemed to be having some issues with her mouth and we wanted her doc to check it for us.  Seems she had a loose canine tooth that he will pull this morning and she'll be home safe and sound this afternoon. I guess you'd say she's on her first sleep over... 

Have a good week ... keep on sketching.

The Art of a Sketchbook - Friday

Most of my sketches are done in a sketchbook, but other times, like when I forget to take a sketchbook with me, I will find a scrap of paper and do my sketching on that.

Recently while off on the boat I realized I had done just that. I had forgot to bring a a sketchbook or a pencil.   In this case I found a scratch pad I had aboard that I had previously made from quartering sheets of unwanted printer paper and stapling them together. Fortunately I also found an ink pen stashed away in a drawer. 

Below you'll see the gorgeous sunset we saw while we were on the boat as well a a couple of sketches.

 

Looking west as we sat in the cockpit enjoying a glass of wine.

I sketched these shell pieces i found while on the beach and the one below was a sketch I did from down inside the cabin looking out.  

Neither are anything special, but represent the fact that if I really feel like sketching, not having my sketchbook along isn't a good excuse.

Happy sketching!