Two Stories, One Pencil Drawing

April 21, 2022 Natalie Wargin

I feel the show in May nipping at my heels. This is the penultimate piece for my exhibit. It’s a colored pencil drawing, another sampler, that combines two of my favorite stories, the meteor shower and the weed bouquet. I’ve contained them within a floral border.

A few years ago, at 2AM on a very cold morning, my husband and I carried blankets and quilts out to the front yard where we laid down to watch a meteor shower. The dog took one look at this and went back in the house. Her loss, though, because it was a sight to see. I’ve shown it here with deer instead, under the shooting stars, helping themselves to my garden. The inset bouquet is actually a bunch of dried weeds, Queen Anne’s Lace and other things that looked pretty but made me sneeze so badly that I could not keep it. The floral border is adapted from samplers that I’ve admired.

“Meteor Shower and Bouquet”
Sampler #3
22 x 18 inches
Prismacolor pencil on Stonehenge Drawing Paper

I’ll be closing my Etsy shop indefinitely while I get ready for my May show and another show that will come on it’s heals. Before I do I will run a final sale.
20% off any purchase from April 21 through April 24.
Here’s a link to my shop:
https://www.etsy.com/shop/NatalieWargin

Thank you, as always, for your interest in my work.

A Sampler In Colored Pencil

May 7, 2021 Natalie Wargin

This piece began as a colored pencil still life based on photos I took of a birthday bouquet. I didn’t intend for it to resemble a sampler but I think the color of the paper I was using (Canson drawing paper, Oyster) pulled it in that direction. I didn’t put up a fight. I love samplers, have stitched a few myself, so I went along for the ride.

The flowers are reds and pinks, large carnations, tulips, and other unidentified things. I have tried to bring my rural landscape into my floral pieces on several occasions and here I did that in a couple of ways. Right and left of the vase are small scenes with little houses, fences, wildlife. There’s that black dog again, dear Maggie I think. And when it came to the illustrious little blue vase I added a barnyard scene with cows and one little calf. I like to think the vase resembles chinoiserie with a Hudson Valley twist. Once I was certain that this drawing was truly a sampler I added the border of little black dots. Think lots of French knots.

“Sampler #1”
20 x 24 inches
Prismacolor pencil on Canson drawing paper, Oyster
$375.00

I’ll be running a sale from today, May 7 through Sunday May 9.
20% off any purchase.

You can find the original drawing in my Etsy shop here:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1014448185/original-colored-pencil-drawing-floral?ref=shop_home_active_1

You can find prints of this image here:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1014443715/art-print-original-colored-pencil?ref=shop_home_active_2

Thanks so much for following along!

Blue Hydrangea in Watercolor

October 24, 2019 Natalie Wargin

Maybe this was the case where you’re located too but for some reason the hydrangeas were startling in color this spring. My neighbor's pink hydrangea was brighter than I've ever seen it and my blue was a shocker. I cut one head and show it here in the popular little blue vase. The small arrangement is based on photos that I took. The wallpaper design is from a pattern I made a while ago and the marquetry table top is pure invention. This is the latest in the series of floral watercolors that I’ve been painting this year. I hope to continue to add to the collection. The original watercolor has been claimed by a woman who has memories of her mother growing hydrangeas. I know this is how it is with flowers. Not only are they beautiful, they also conjure memories.

Prints of this painting are available in my shop here:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/741177205/art-print-blue-hydrangea-spring-bouquet?ref=listing_published_alert

Also, 20% off on any purchase from today, October 24 through Sunday, October 27.

Thanks for following along!

"Tapestry" in Colored Pencil

August 28, 2019 Natalie Wargin

This piece started with some photos I took back in February of a birthday bouquet that I wasn’t overly fond of. The bouquet, not the photos. Of course I said “thank you” but the arrangement had just too many different colors, too many different things. Roses, tulips, ranunculus, little pips, scabiosa pods, lots of extra greenery (why do they always do that?), blackberries which were a surprise, sticks covered with greenshield lichen, also surprising. I took everything out of the vase, got rid of the greenery filler, spread it all out, added a mourning dove, and here it is.
“Tapestry.”
Prismacolor pencils on black Strathmore drawing paper.
25” x 19”.

I’ve been enjoying the colored pencils but this will be my last pencil piece for a while. It’s back to the landscapes for me. I’ve also closed my Etsy shop for a bit. It will be on an extended vacation and will reopen sometime in the fall.

I have a bit of news. My painting, “Ghost Story,” has been accepted to the Radius 50 Show at the Woodstock Artists Museum. The show runs from September 7 through September 29 with an artists reception on September 14 from 4 - 6pm. I’ll be at the reception so if you’re in the area stop by and say hello. I’d love to meet you!

Hope you’re all enjoying the end of summer and thank you for following along!

Peonies in Colored Pencil

July 26, 2019 Natalie Wargin

I may have mentioned that I have never had a green thumb. Garden success has always run in my family but I have had very little of it. My grandparents had a prolific flower garden behind their house. They also had a bountiful “Victory Garden” in a nearby plot shared with their neighbors following the second world war. My grandmother liked to tell me, as we toured her yard, about the beautiful gardens in Poland which inspired her. My mother always grew flowers. She got things to grow in the most unlikely places, a dizzying stand of purple irises right next to the garbage cans in the alley. My father had a postage stamp sized vegetable garden that gave an impressive yield. My sister has grown garlic commercially. And my brother in California, boastful thing that he is, loves to show us not only photos of his flowers and vegetables but also the system he designed that lets him water his plants from anywhere on the planet. By comparison I could get very little to thrive in my Chicago garden. But the times they are a-changing.

The Hudson Valley soil is rich. That must be a big part of it but my garden is definitely growing now. I have always wanted a peony hedge and when I found a sale a year ago, an offer I couldn’t refuse, I ordered ten roots. This spring I was rewarded. Not quite a full hedge yet but close and the blooms were impressive. Pinks and reds, including the color I love best, the pale pale almost white peony. This pencil drawing shows a bouquet of those flowers.

“Peonies.”
25’ x 19”
Prismacolor pencils on Strathmore drawing paper.
$275.

The original and prints of the image are available in my shop here:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/720837001/peonies-original-colored-pencil-drawing?ref=shop_home_active_3&frs=1
https://www.etsy.com/listing/720835595/peonies-art-print-of-original-colored?ref=shop_home_active_4&frs=1

In addition to the new drawing I’ve also added some new greeting cards. You can find them here:
https://www.etsy.com/shop/NatalieWargin?section_id=14952051

I have made some changes to my shop, now offering free shipping always on any order over $35.
In addition to this I’m running a sale, 20% off on any purchase of any amount from Friday, July 26 through Monday, July 29.

Thank you for following along!

Pink Tulips And An Attack

April 26, 2018 Natalie Wargin

Spring has been very slow in arriving here in the Hudson Valley. I know this is true of many parts of the country. But even if there's still snow on the ground it seems a sign when the market starts to sell tulips. I'm especially fond of the pale pink ones myself and I can never resist. In a way this is a reprise of an earlier watercolor of pink tulips and peepers; tulips in the foreground, the little frogs hanging on to the stems and leaves. But in this painting, beyond the flowers, is my rural landscape and a little drama that unfolded. Maggie was attacked by an angry Canada goose who came out of nowhere. Luckily Maggie escaped mostly unharmed. This is a true story.

As you can imagine the altercation between goose and dog got my heart racing. I'm working on a depiction. It will be the painting you'll see in the next installment of this newsletter. You can watch my progress on my Instagram page here:
instagram.com/nataliewargin/

The painting, "Pink Tulips and An Attack," and prints of this image are available in my Etsy shop.
You can find the painting here:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/595821212/pink-tulips-with-peepers-and-canada?ref=shop_home_active_1

You can find the print here:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/592033034/pink-tulips-with-peepers-art-print-of?ref=shop_home_active_2

I've added several more prints of past paintings to my shop as well.
And to celebrate the arrival of this very tardy spring there's FREE SHIPPING on every order from April 26 through
Wednesday, May 2. No code needed.

A Bright Bouquet with Two Sparrows

March 31, 2016 Natalie Wargin

There's a small but very special shop one town over. It's the perfect place to find a gift or to get a wildly colorful bouquet and I was lucky enough to receive some of their fancy flowers for my birthday. Scarlet poppies, purple-indigo delphinium, lime-light hydrangeas. I thought I'd paint them even though the arrangement was a bit more colorful than my usual palette. Here they are. Somehow a couple of sparrows got into the picture. If you know me at all you know that I can't just leave things alone. Birds and animals tug at my sleeve every time I pull out my paints. I happen to have a soft spot for sparrows. Small and unassuming, quietly colored, they are hearty and tough. I had some space so in they went.

This is a 9 x 12 inch watercolor and gouache painting. It's available here in my shop:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/286217601/watercolor-painting-original-bouquet?ref=shop_home_active_2
You can find prints of this painting here:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/274048834/art-print-watercolor-painting-original?ref=listing-shop-header-1

A Room With A View + Free Shipping

January 29, 2016 Natalie Wargin

I have to face it. This winter here in the Hudson Valley is a dud. I know, I know, there's still more winter to come but I can recognize a pattern when I see one. This one says "No Snow." And I love snow.

Recently I was out with Maggie in the gray afternoon thinking a pretty bouquet might lift my funk when I realized that I didn't have to go over to Green Cottage for flowers. I could pick an interesting assortment of drying things; leaves of red and brown, gray-brown Queen Anne's Lace, and some of those other things, all appropriately decomposing like my mood. But I felt my mood improving. You can see in the photo of the things I chose that they made a pleasing arrangement. I took them home, took that photo, and was about to place the weeds in a vase when I noticed all the little dust and seeds falling. I began to sneeze wildly. The bouquet ended up back in the woods but I had an image and an idea for a watercolor.

The drying bouquet is hanging, as you can see, tied with a ribbon. I added the falling dust and seeds just for fun. There are goats in my vicinity but not right next door. The view out the window of goats in the snow is wishful.

The original watercolor is 11" x 14" and available in my Etsy shop here:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/265830673/watercolor-painting-original-a-room-with?ref=shop_home_active_1
Prints of the image are available here:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/265937368/art-print-original-watercolor-a-room?ref=listing-shop-header-1

And shipping is free on any order with this code, good through January 31.
FREESHIP

Pink Tulips & Peepers

May 19, 2015 Natalie Wargin

Pale pink tulips are my favorite and here it is, spring at long last, and I have been indulging myself with near weekly bouquets. And since it's spring the peepers are singing in the marsh behind the house pretty much non-stop. When I did the sketch for this painting it was raining and three of the tiny frogs hopped onto the french doors next to my work table. They stuck there on the glass. I love when I get to see them so close up, no larger than a quarter with a gorgeous copper ring around their eyes. I could see their little hearts beating so fast. They begged to be included.

This painting and prints in various sizes are available in my shop.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/232415560/watercolor-painting-original-tulips-and?ref=shop_home_active_2
https://www.etsy.com/listing/232454525/art-print-original-watercolor-tulips-and?ref=shop_home_active_1

Spring Bouquet in the Dead of Winter

April 3, 2015 Natalie Wargin

I received a bouquet of gorgeous spring flowers in the middle of February. They couldn't have been more welcome since we here in the northeast were struggling with the freezing gray winter that would not end. As you can see, the bouquet was very colorful and it fell into a very pretty arrangement, thankfully -- I'm not much good at floral arrangement myself. I used my most colorful vase too, a majolica carrot pitcher actually. The flowers lasted about a week but I'd taken a few snaps and, as winter continued to hold on, I decided they needed a longer life. So, the painting. I added a few of the funny green caterpillars I see sometimes. They're in there somewhere.

This is an original watercolor and gouache painting of a bouquet of spring flowers. It's 9.5 x 12 inches (24 x 30 cm). It's available in my Etsy shop along with prints of the image. Find them here:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/228382184/watercolor-original-spring-bouquet?ref=shop_home_active_1
https://www.etsy.com/listing/228385231/art-print-original-watercolor-spring?ref=shop_home_active_2

Columbines, a new painting

July 1, 2014 Natalie Wargin

I like to pick flowers that are growing wild along the road. I'm not real careful about how I arrange them, I just like some color on my window sill. These flowers separated themselves into yellows and purples which I liked and decided to paint.

Prints of this painting will be appearing in my Etsy shop soon.
https://www.etsy.com/shop/NatalieWargin

Watercolor Painting Caterpillar #2

April 30, 2014 Natalie Wargin

This is a second version of my Caterpillar watercolor and gouache painting. I wish I had a good photo of the starring caterpillar that I saw last summer on my patio. I'd love to show it to you. I have never seen such a large caterpillar. I was startled when I first found it. Then I couldn't stop going back for another look.

This painting is for sale in my Etsy shop.
Here's a link:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/185886474/watercolor-painting-with-bouquet-and

Take 10% off any purchase with discount code SPRING10
Enter code at checkout. Discount expires May 27.