A Still Life in Colored Pencil

“Eucalyptus and Thistle” detail.

“Eucalyptus and Thistle” detail.

“Eucalyptus and Thistle”

There’s a long and not especially interesting story behind my decision to do this piece in colored pencil. I won’t bore you. Mostly though I blame my friends and family who have given me many sets of colored pencils over the years, none of which I’ve used until now. This floral still life is a reprise of a portion of a previous painting and features an arrangement of eucalyptus and thistle. The eucalyptus leaves fall softly around the bowl, buds very white. The bright pink thistles stand tall. The wallpaper pattern of subtle doves and garland makes a background. Someone spilled some sugar on the table. The ants are busy and happy. One may be whistling. A caterpillar seems interested.

This drawing is 30” x 22” on black Stonehenge paper. I used Prismacolor pencils which were a surprise and a delight. They are soft and waxy and they blend and cover well. And, lucky for me, they don’t smear if you brush a sleeve over the work. I think there will be more pencil work to come.

Prints of this image are available in my Etsy shop here:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/674332648/art-print-original-colored-pencil?ref=listing_published_alert
And I’m offering free shipping on all domestic orders from March 8 through March 12. No code necessary.

Thank you for indulging me.

The Storm and A Show!

"The Storm," detail.

"The Storm," detail.

"The Storm," detail.

"The Storm," detail.

"The Storm," detail.

A funny thing happened when I started this painting. The sky took over. I had every intention of showing a garden on a sunny blue sky day but, as you can see, that's not what happened. I've never before had the feeling that I wasn't completely in control of a piece. When my brush began making those dark churning clouds it crossed my mind that I could make the sky brighter and clearer but something kept me from doing it. In the end I was glad that I let the painting have its way. 

So a storm is definitely coming.  Trees are blowing sideways, blossomed branches are tossed, a curtain flies from a window, a bell on a gate rings and rings.  Milkweed, ferns, wild roses, and spider wort are tangled. The stream is rushing into the pond and the ducks are having second thoughts about their swim. The deer are heading for shelter, a turtle seems to have found some. And if I know that dog she's about to be frightened when the thunder starts. The stone house looks safe and welcoming. I think someone's about to get dinner going.

"The Storm," acrylic on panel, 24" x 18".  This painting has sold.

I have some news too. I have had three paintings accepted into a juried show at the Woodstock Artists Museum.  The show is titled FOCUS: Surveying the Landscape.  I'm very happy about this. It's the first juried show for me and my paintings.  The show runs from July 21 through August 26. I'll be at the opening reception on Saturday, July 28 from 4 to 6pm. I'd love to see you if you happen to be in the area.

I have several new prints in my Etsy shop.
Everything is 20% off starting today, July 20, and running through Monday, July 23.
https://www.etsy.com/shop/NatalieWargin

Hello Again!

It's been a while, I know.  When I wrote to you last I was about to show my work at a local library.  Which I did.  The opening reception was very nice, better than I had expected.  I'm pretty happy to work quietly most days and I'm not a party girl in the least so I was half dreading the reception and the requisite talking. But everyone who came was so lovely, old friends and new, and I was barely uncomfortable at all.  In the end ten of the eleven paintings sold.  After a little down time I'm back to painting again.  The detail above shows the flowers I had on the table at the reception -- thistles and some sort of eucalyptus. 

I've reopened my Etsy shop. To kick things off all prints are 20% off.  The sale will run from today, March 22, through March 27.  No coupon code is needed -- Etsy will show the mark down on each item.  I don't have a lot of inventory yet but I'll be adding as time goes by.  If there's an image that's not there that you'd like a print of please let me know and I'll see what I can do. I'm now having an outside source do my printing.  Making the prints myself, as I did in the past, is pretty time consuming and I want to focus as much as possible on my painting.  

Here's a link to my shop:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/NatalieWargin

I want to thank you all for hanging around.  I'm so grateful for your support.  I hope that the work and small stories to come will continue to hold your interest. I'll probably send this blog out once a month or so, as before, but if you'd like to see how my paintings are progressing you can check out my Instagram page:

https://www.instagram.com/nataliewargin/

"Reception" detail.

"Reception" detail.