New Work and a PBS Interview

January 28, 2022 Natalie Wargin

Well, I’ve been keeping busy. This is a new painting featuring the monster tomato plant I grew this past summer. Just as I was finishing this piece I was contacted by WMHT, our local PBS station. Would I be interested in being featured on their show about the arts? Yes, I would.

First, a little about the interview. The producer/director and the camera woman came to my home, turned my living room into a sort of studio where the interview was filmed. Then we went to my work area in the basement where I was filmed while I painted. This was the hard part. The camera was almost literally on my shoulder. Good thing I’ve learned how to tune the world out when I need to. It’s a short piece and if you’d like to take a look here’s the link:
https://fb.watch/aLMWetGbjF/

Picture it, a single tomato plant that all but took over the front yard. She could never have known how perfect the conditions were for that little seed but all the warm sun, the good Hudson Valley dirt, and the careful watering created a wonderful monster. Here she is, her cozy house and peony hedge behind her, picking another basket full of tomatoes. There is abundant life all around. Birds are bickering, a chipmunk helps herself, a skunk has wandered in. And that very fast dog, who just can’t seem to help herself, is getting mighty close to that squirrel.

”Tomato Garden”
18 x 24 inches
Acrylic on Clayboard

I’ve reopened my Etsy shop and you can find prints of this image here:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1154168238/tomato-garden-art-print-of-original?click_key=72bba725ab2f741b717dc5019fcda0489281b3cb%3A1154168238&click_sum=25d605b5&ref=shop_home_active_1&sts=1

Thank you for reading along.
If you have any comments on the interview, or anything really, I’d love to hear them.

A New Kingdom and a Podcast

May 30, 2019 Natalie Wargin

“Peaceable Kingdom. The Animals” detail.

This piece has taken it’s sweet time coming into being. I was sidetracked by several matters that took me away from my work. But here finally is the finished painting. It features the animals that I see almost daily. That’s me on a very good day, jawline tightened, with faithful Maggie in the center beneath a surge of blackbirds. In real life I was caught beneath that surge one morning on the trail with a flock of one hundred blasting above me, nearly touching my head. It was breathtaking. Here is a calmer version. I appear to be releasing a blackbird into the spiraling flock, insinuating myself I suppose, into this impossible scenario. Blackbirds, coyote, deer, black bear, fisher, turkeys, pheasant, squirrel, skunk, fox, rabbit, chipmunk. You’ll recognize my house in the background. The question remains, why are they all on the move? I could get political and say it has something to do with the damage we’ve done to our natural world and the list of soon to be extinct species I’ve been hearing about. But I actually think those crazy birds just got everyone excited.

“Peaceable Kingdom. The Animals.”
Acrylic on board
24” x 18”
$1500.

A reader made a suggestion that I add an audio feature to this newsletter. I kind of liked the idea so here goes. I wrote several versions of a script, all of which I tossed. They sounded too stiff and in the end I decided to simply talk about what I see when I look at this painting. Although I’ve called this a podcast it technically isn’t, not yet. You won’t find it on iTunes although, if this goes well, who knows?

ETSY SALE! Get free standard shipping on any purchase from May 30 through June 3.
The painting and prints of the image are available in my shop here:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/693860112/peaceable-kingdom-the-animals-original?ref=listing_published_alert

https://www.etsy.com/listing/693858252/peaceable-kingdom-the-animals-art-print?ref=shop_home_active_1

Portrait of Two Ragdoll Cats

August 14, 2015 Natalie Wargin

I was thrilled to be asked to do another pet portrait. You may remember that I had done a watercolor of "Two Dogs On The Hudson." Here I have painted two Ragdoll cats. I was asked if I could get a wild turkey, a chipmunk, and part of the house into the picture too. This is the result. I've titled the painting "What Happened In The Garden" because I thought there was maybe a little story here...

Paris and Blanket Marie, the two lovely Ragdolls, are surprised and slightly confused by all of the activity in their garden. It's usually such a peaceful place with the sweet grass and bright flowers and the comfort of the conservatory a few steps away. It's a perfect place for a little nap, for instance. But who invited all of these birds? They're so noisy and they have certainly made themselves at home. Blanket Marie thinks the chipmunk is to blame. Sure, he looks innocent off there in the corner nibbling a nut, his back to the hullabaloo, but she knows he likes to start things. Paris, however, has a funny feeling about that show-off turkey.

"What Happened In The Garden" is done in watercolor and gouache and measures 11" x 11". I hope to do more pet portraits and should probably start planning one of my own dog, Maggie. I must give some thought to this.

No more weed paintings for a while

September 23, 2014 Natalie Wargin

I'm pretty sure there are weeds like these everywhere -- weeds that resemble wheat. They don't look like anything special until they bloom and go to seed. Then there's a wild explosion of tangled tendrils and yellow seeds that look like a party skirt. As for the chipmunk, he lives under my screen porch. I see him everyday filling his cheeks and keeping an eye on me for any sudden movements. I sit at my table painting or drawing and watch him through the patio doors as he stands up really tall, looking for who knows what. Sometimes he just sits and admires the trees. So smart.

This is the last of my "Weeds" series for now. I've been working on a calendar that will feature weed paintings and , ta da!, I've got twelve.

This painting is available in my Etsy shop.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/204003488/watercolor-painting-original-chipmunk

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http://eepurl.com/UY5MD