A New Wild Turkey. A Pencil Drawing.

December 5, 2024 Natalie Wargin

I want to get back to painting but the Roxbury show tired me out some. I decided to do this pencil drawing to get back into the swing of things, pencil drawings being less demanding than the detailed acrylic paintings. Here’s where I landed.

The wild turkeys have been very wild this fall. The antics they get up to in my yard are noisy and crazy and Tilly and I race from front window to screen porch to watch them as they pass through. There’s a group of eleven that appears most evenings around six, just as we’re sitting down to dinner making my table manners less than appropriate. I just can’t help myself. Neither can Tilly. The birds talk and pick at each other, feathers flying here and there, launching themselves over our stone wall and back again.

This is one of them. A beautiful female, looking like a dancer. They are the most fabulous creatures.

“Wild Turkey”
9 x 12 inches
Prismacolor pencil on black Fabriano drawing paper
$200.00

This piece is available in my shop where I’m also running a sale.
20% off any purchase, including this drawing, today through Saturday, December 7.
Here’s a link to this drawing:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1822543532/original-colored-pencil-drawing-wild?click_key=4603d584729f8a48b3dd77b8620dad71119edecc%3A1822543532&click_sum=e4516f47&ref=shop_home_active_1&sts=1

Thank you, as always for your interest in my work.
I wish all of you the happiest of holidays!

Midnight. A New Painting.

July 18, 2024 Natalie Wargin

This painting was a challenge. It was a commission, a continuation of a story I began in an earlier piece about the tomato plant that fairly took over my front yard. Maybe you remember it with the lovely girl in her front garden picking a basket full of ripe tomatoes. The assignment here was to place our tomato girl in her garden again but this time at night. I don’t have a lot of experience painting night scenes. This is where I landed.

It’s a mild full moon night, the lady of the house sits on the bench in her side yard holding her squirming cat. There’s no doubt about her green thumb. The wild tomato plant in the front yard was no fluke. In fact you can see it at the edges of the scene trying to find a place here too. The air is perfumed with roses, peonies, dogwoods, tulips, trout lilies, daffodils, and those little seedy things. There’s scarcely room for anything else, the gardening style here being one of wild abandon. The little stream adds soft background music while birds and animals rest. The house is welcoming, warm light from the open window.

This is only the third commission I’ve taken. The first one was a success all around, the second was a nightmare which made me hesitant to take this “Midnight” assignment. But the patron was happy to review a sketch and then let me run with it. I was grateful for that and we are both pleased with the result.

“Midnight”
24 x 18 inches
Acrylic on claybord

Prints of this image are available in my Etsy shop here:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1732756934/midnight-garden-art-print-of-original?click_key=88a21fe8b96e6e20b8bd45200102a90f8b7ee42c%3A1732756934&click_sum=70cc18d9&ref=shop_home_active_1

Thanks, as always, for taking a look!

Two Turkeys Crossing The Road, New Work

October 26, 2023 Natalie Wargin

This usually happens. Tilly and I are out for our three o’clock walk, we turn down Coxing Road and there they are, a line of turkeys crossing east to west. These days there are twenty one in this flock. We stop at a respectful distance to admire and let them pass and fortunately they move slowly, with only a slight flutter here and there, so Tilly is not inspired to chase them. I hang on to the leash just in case. On this particular day I focus on a pair who are caught in a shower of falling blossoms while they pass a garden in bloom. Hollyhocks and blue flowers. A few little houses too. Do I know the people who live in the house with the inviting red chairs? Up in the air are a pair of brilliant cardinals.

“3 O’Clock”
12 x 16 inches
Acrylic on claybord panel
$800.00

This painting is available in my Etsy shop. Find the listing here:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1578746348/original-acrylic-painting-of-two-wild?click_key=3e47223ca9dfeab484037b287d1874557f55f59a%3A1578746348&click_sum=bb1d62a3&ref=shop_home_active_1&sts=1

Prints of this image are available here:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1579252004/art-print-original-watercolor-two-wild?click_key=89067dafdb51eacc5ce805875e2c0153cafc1e93%3A1579252004&click_sum=fcfec72e&ref=shop_home_active_1&sts=1

I’m running a little sale for the next three days: 20% off any purchase from my Etsy shop.
Thank you for taking a look! I always appreciate it.

Ghosts of Christmas Past - A New Painting

March 10, 2023 Natalie Wargin

It’s been a while since I sent out a newsletter and this painting is to blame. Would you look at all the people? Nine. And because I’m not well practiced or particularly good at painting faces they took hours. However, finish I did and here you have another scene featuring Emily, my grandmother, and Christmas Eve at her house.

It all started innocently enough when I found a bit of the wallpaper that had been on Emily’s living room walls. Then things got out of hand. I redrew the wallpaper pattern. It’s bold, don’t you agree? I remembered the olive green sofa and paired it with a club chair that in real life was deep red, one of a pair, but here it’s become green too. Our point of view: we’re in the dining room looking past the built in bookcases into the living room where Santa stands next to the tree handing out one gift each to the Christmas-crazy kids.

So many details. An uncle straightens a painting of the Polish mountains that Emily and Felix love to remember. An aunt drinks her coffee beneath a painting of a pretty house set in an equally pretty garden. Each of the boy cousins has an agenda. We’ll keep tabs on the one with the key who has been eyeing the gifts in the locked bookcases. The two girls might be me and my sister Cheryl. Emily, who together with Felix, has been laboring over the Christmas Eve traditions and meal for days and days, is still in her fabulous apron. She’s watching Felix, the man beside her in the Santa suit she made, making sure the right gift goes to the right grandchild.

Until I was working on this painting I hadn’t given much thought to my grandfather in the Santa suit but the fact that he dressed up like this says some lovely things about him. Felix spoke very little English and, along with all the other grandchildren, I never learned Polish. This made for a narrow relationship. I never doubted that he loved us all but he was a quiet, reserved man. Now, here I am, painting him in this outrageous outfit and it’s a revelation. This was a man who had a sense of humor, who loved children, and who definitely loved his wife. Sometimes it takes a very long time to see what was right before your eyes.

“Emily’s Dream #3 - Christmas Eve”
24 x 18 inches
Acrylic on claybord
$2200

My Etsy shop is open and I’m running a sale starting today and running through Sunday, March 12.

You can find this painting here:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1434143983/christmas-eve-family-memories-original?click_key=66be8873377802b174829d66edeb003d76a8b1f0%3A1434143983&click_sum=7eeded9f&ref=shop_home_active_1

You can find prints of this image here:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1419951996/art-print-original-acrylic-painting?click_key=47a0166967f15d3426f4e09d1857438998751e90%3A1419951996&click_sum=00e231a7&ref=shop_home_active_1

Thanks for taking the time to read this story. Thanks too for your interest in my work.
Merry Christmas!

“Emily’s Dream #3 - Christmas Eve” detail.

Smoke. A new painting.

November 25, 2022 Natalie Wargin

One morning, very shortly after I moved to the Hudson Valley, I looked out a second floor window and saw a flock of wild turkeys. I was entranced and delighted, as I still always am when I see turkeys, but there was something odd about this group. One of the birds was practically white. Knowing absolutely nothing about the wildlife in these parts I guessed that perhaps this group had welcomed a white hen or some sort of duck. Nope.

I came to find out that the light gray, practically white bird, was a smoke phase turkey. Not a true albino it retains some of the natural coloring of a wild turkey but its feathers are primarily a soft gray. I painted a watercolor version of this flock. It was one of my very first paintings. I positioned the birds in front of one of my favorite barns, the one with the gray and oxblood paint. This is a reconsidering of that early painting and a retelling of what I saw way back then.

Here is the flock on a glorious autumn day traveling through a field. The grasses are fading to parchment, as are the ferns. The buttonbush has turned red. Trees and bushes are wildly colored. Woodsmoke from the chimneys fills the air with that lovely smell. The sky is moody. There may be a hint of snow in the air. The turkeys are restless, the smoke phase stops to groom herself. A little frog observes.

“Smoke”
Acrylic on birch panel
20 x 16 inches
$1600

This painting is available in my shop here:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1340474200/original-acrylic-painting-of-wild?click_key=c0562f837032618839743f4c8e7db56a09ebc416%3A1340474200&click_sum=d431ec44&ref=shop_home_active_1

Prints of this image are available here:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1354447555/art-print-original-acrylic-painting-of?click_key=0dbd2844f029a3e56c9717ccd08849c9394aaf0f%3A1354447555&click_sum=a537c3b0&ref=shop_home_active_1

Everything in my shop is 20% off through Tuesday, November 29. No code needed.
Get things while you can because my shop will be closing indefinitely on Wednesday, November 30.

Thank you for following along. Thank you for your interest in my work.
I wish you all the very best of holidays!

Two Small Botanicals. New Work.

October 6, 2022 Natalie Wargin

I find the most interesting plants growing in the woods and along the wetland edge. Here are small watercolors of two that I see, depending on the season: Bloodroot and Buttonbush. Bloodroot gets its name from its red orange roots that resemble carrots. Yes, I pulled one up so I could see for myself. The roots can be used to make ink or dye. The leaves are big and curvy, the flowers are smallish and white. In the spring, in the woodland shadows, this plant spreads and beautifully fills a lot of space. The second plant, Buttonbush, grows in wet areas and also appreciates shade. In the spring the blossoms are like little green balls that each open into dozens of tightly packed small white flowers like the globe you see here. The foliage is dense and dark and in the fall the “buttons” become red and copper colored. Both of these plants are quite dramatic.

I haven’t done any watercolors in a while and it was a pleasure to work on these two. They are small, as I say, and working on small pieces was also a nice change. I’ll be back to larger work soon.

Both of these originals are available in my Etsy shop where I’m also offering free domestic shipping on all orders through Sunday, October 9. Here are the links:

“Bloodroot”
5 x 6 inches
Watercolor on Fabriano Hot Press
$90
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1318491625/original-watercolor-painting-bloodroot?click_key=6d824a8df84af158ef00b08fb3a00f0133c480d6%3A1318491625&click_sum=7bca4747&ref=shop_home_active_2

“Buttonbush
5 x 6 inches
Watercolor on Fabriano Hot Press
SOLD
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1318500245/original-watercolor-painting-buttonbush?click_key=f24f7649d7317fc42c19a9d7951b9b5884f25ffb%3A1318500245&click_sum=d04f1daa&ref=shop_home_active_1

You can also find prints of these paintings in my shop here:
https://www.etsy.com/shop/NatalieWargin?ref=seller-platform-mcnav

Thanks so much for taking a look at what I’ve been up to.
It’s most appreciated!

A new Sampler In Colored Pencil

August 5, 2022 Natalie Wargin

I decided to do another colored pencil sampler, just to get back into the swing of things after my exhibit in Woodstock. These drawings done in the style of an old fashioned sampler are relatively quick for me to execute and they’re very satisfying when completed. I’ve titled this one “Everything.”

Just above the curve of the earth are the moon and stars in the night sky and the soft clouds and sun of a new day. In the hills white tailed deer graze, odd birds fly, a rabbit runs, a horse gallops. Somebody should repair that fence. The woman waters her wildly successful garden. Just get a load of the peonies. An old dog relaxes. I’ll bet the house is cozy. The shed seems in good repair and if you choose to sit and rest for a moment you can watch the turtle in the pond under the buttonbush. There’s a black bear near the tree. I have to think about him.
This is everything.

“Sampler #4, Everything”
19 x 22 inches
Prismacolor pencil on Stonehenge Drawing Paper
$400

I’m running a sale in my Etsy shop, 15% off any purchase. The sale runs from today, August 5 through Sunday, August 7.
This original piece of art is available here:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1278990519/original-colored-pencil-drawing-country?click_key=82736205cf8f36676c849f1f380c14b46f89819f%3A1278990519&click_sum=852e91ca&ref=shop_home_active_1

Prints of this image are also available here:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1265042630/art-print-original-colored-pencil?click_key=355b32be87acde1a1c3fa446a8713b5229ebfd6f%3A1265042630&click_sum=9f11c33f&ref=shop_home_active_1

Thank you for taking a look at what I’ve been up to. I appreciate it!

Porcupines At Mohonk - New Work

February 24, 2022 Natalie Wargin

This is a retelling of a story from a few years ago when I went for a hike at the Mohonk Preserve with my friends Mary Grace and Raedel. If you’re unfamiliar with the Mohonk Mountain House and the Preserve it’s worth checking out. The hotel alone is fairly mind blowing. I digress. It was a perfect spring morning — flowers blooming, bees buzzing, birds and little frogs too, the roof tops of the hotel visible in the distance. We chose an easy trail, a good walk and conversation being our intent. We were talking and laughing and we rounded a bend and Mary Grace almost stepped on a porcupine.

I’d never seen a porcupine outside of a zoo and it was all I could do to get my phone out of my pocket and start taking photos. I got several decent shots. The porcupine didn’t seem especially concerned about me nor did she seem at all put out about almost being stepped on. You see her here, ambling along the path, and once she reached an overgrown spot she stopped to grab and eat a bunch of leaves. She was gorgeous. I did wonder about those quills. Do they shoot them in self defense? Later I looked it up and learned that they do not. Instead they charge and impale a predator with multiple barbs.

I mentioned that this is a retelling. A while back I did a small watercolor based on this story. Here is a larger representation in acrylics, with more details of the porcupine and the day. This is the ninth piece for my show at the Woodstock Museum in May.

“Porcupines At Mohonk”
Acrylic on Clayboard
24 x 18 inches

I’m having a sale in my Etsy shop running from today through the 28th.
20% off on any print, any size.
Prints of this image are available in my shop here:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1182549973/art-print-of-original-acrylic-painting?click_key=e5175985330b1f06b173ee16d2f1970725b24287%3A1182549973&click_sum=bfa80afd&ref=shop_home_active_1&sts=1

Thank you for following my work and reading my tales.

A Firefly Metaphor. A New Painting.

December 4, 2020 Natalie Wargin

Yes, I know. The Fourth of July isn’t on anyone’s mind right now. But this is a timely painting although I didn’t realize it until I was almost finished. Let me explain.

I set out to do a night time painting of Circle Avenue, a little neighborhood near my house that’s strung along a semi-circular road. You may have seen that I’ve painted this street before. I’m drawn to the neighborly feeling I get whenever I drive through. I also wanted to do another night scene.

While painting the trees I kept remembering all the fireflies that I see each summer lighting up the forest behind my house. The tall dark trees and all the tiny insect lights. On and off. It’s magical. I don’t need to tell you. So in the end I decided to add some fireflies. And a thought occurred to me. Here was some light in a dark landscape. Something I suppose, in a way, we’re all waiting for. I do not paint political statements or protest pieces. I believe that the beauty all around us will save us. Perhaps it’s my protest not to paint a protest. But I think I did paint a metaphor.

”July Fourth”
Acrylic on panel, 16 x 20 inches.
$1500.00
This painting along with prints of this image are available in my shop.

You can find the painting here:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/915868367/fireflies-on-july-fourth-original?ref=shop_home_active_2

You can find prints of this image here:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/901940178/fireflies-on-july-fourth-art-print-of?ref=shop_home_active_1

I will be running a brief sale from December 4 through December 6.
20% off any purchase.

I wish you all the very happiest of holidays, whatever they may be.
Thank you for your interest in my work. It means the world.

Hello! The shop’s open with new work!

March 19, 2020 Natalie Wargin

Hello again! Little did I realize when I was working on this bright piece that a splash of bold color might be just what we all need. Especially this spring. I hope you’re all taking care and keeping well.

You may remember that last year I put in a peony hedge. Surprisingly it was kind of a success. I cut some blooms, red ones and white ones, and took some photos to work from. Here I've featured only the red and deep pink flowers in a bouquet, and I will admit that in this painting I got a little carried away with red. I thought for a minute that I'd use up all of my red paint. I really worried a little. In the upper corner I opened a window for some relief and there was a pink house with an impatient woman in the window watching a very happy black dog. The woman might be me. I don’t recognize the dog.

“The Pink House”
12 x 16 inches, watercolor on Fabriano Hot Press.

Here’s a second piece finished just a week or so ago. The little yellow building is a Quaker chapel in the woods next to a trail. The trail, you can see it on the right, starts with a rocky section that's not difficult to negotiate unless it's rainy. Then be careful please.

The yellow chapel is sometimes used for weddings and is beautifully simple inside with benches arranged on the square, an open area in the center of them. Here are all of the woodland creatures I've grown accustomed to along with spring flowers -- day lilies, daffodils, fragrant mountain laurel.

I've added several foxes, mostly red, one gray. The grays are unusual here and after eleven years I've only seen one. Foxes are true survivors and should we finally destroy this planet of ours cockroaches and foxes will live on. Foxes are supremely adaptable. Social in a skulk or solitary they can live practically anywhere and they can eat practically anything.

“Fox Chapel”
18 x 24 inches, acrylic on board.

My Etsy shop is open again. I’ve added some new prints and some new originals and from March 19 through March 26 all prints and original work is 20% off.

You can find my shop here:
https://www.etsy.com/shop/NatalieWargin

The “Red Peony” painting is here:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/770512022/original-watercolor-painting-of-red?ref=shop_home_active_4

And the “Fox Chapel” painting is here:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/785439255/original-acrylic-painting-woodland?ref=shop_home_active_7

Thank you 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!

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!

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

A Still Life in Colored Pencil

March 8, 2019 Natalie Wargin

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.

Moonlight and Snowfall

January 17, 2019 Natalie Wargin

Finishing up a morning run I turned the corner into my driveway and there was a buck. I didn’t startle him in the least but he surprised me a little. He was very big. He looked at me and calmly kept on foraging. I can go most of the year without seeing many, or any, bucks but there he was. I’ve put him here, in a slightly different scene. Here it’s nighttime, the moon is full, and snow is beginning to fall. I’ve added a doe. The green house is mine. The red barn is not mine although it seems to make regular appearances in my work. The helter skelter arrangement of my neighbors homes is fairly accurate, typical in a rural setting. No straight lines or right angles here.

This is a watercolor painting on Fabriano paper, 17” x 13”. The original painting has been sold but prints of the image are available in my Etsy shop. I’m offering FREE SHIPPING on any order, no code needed. The offer runs from January 17 through January 22. You can find prints of this image here:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/674690645/art-print-original-watercolor-moonlight?ref=listing_published_alert

Happy Holidays!

December 11, 2018 Natalie Wargin

I realize that Lily of the Valley aren’t the first thing that comes to mind when you think of the holidays but I was in the mood to paint some flowers. I picked these in the spring and put them in the mottled blue vase and took some photos for “future” reference. It turned out that November was the “future.” I like this little vase, a gift from long ago that comes in handy for small things. The wallpaper is loosely based on a pattern design that I created in Illustrator. I don’t know where the red tiles came from but I think they look alright. Maybe a little Christmas-y.

Thanks to all of you for your continued interest in my work. I am grateful. I wish all of you the happiest of holidays, whatever those may be.

“Lily of the Valley,” watercolor, 10” x 12”, on Fabriano paper.

Prints of this painting are available in my Etsy shop.
FREE SHIPPING on every domestic purchase through December 21.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/665131253/art-print-original-watercolor-lily-of?ref=shop_home_active_1

Donkeys and Pears

November 1, 2018 Natalie Wargin

This is a story of two escapees, donkeys that belong on some neighboring farm, that I see from time to time under Dan’s pear trees. The donkeys are very entertaining and thoroughly enjoy their bit of freedom. One is usually standing calmly, watching, while the other loves to roll around. I have never learned who they belong to. The pear trees have been untended for years so they’ve gone wild looking and the pears are almost inedible. I say almost because another neighbor has delicious success poaching them in red wine and bottling them for Christmas gifts. Dan’s little shed is in the center and there are Queen Anne’s Lace in the foreground and fallen pears in the grass. I added the two cavorting bear cubs and the watchful momma bear after finally spotting them in the woods after everyone I know had already seen them. Wouldn’t you know I’d be the last one.

“Donkeys and Pears”, 20” x 16”, acrylic on panel.
The painting is available here:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/654348671/donkeys-and-pears-original-acrylic?ref=listing_published_alert

Prints of the painting are available here:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/654279495/donkeys-and-pears-art-print-of-original?ref=shop_home_active_1

From November 1 through November 5 you can take advantage of this sale:
25% off on all orders. No code necessary.
Find my shop here:
https://www.etsy.com/shop/NatalieWargin?ref=l2-shopheader-name

Below are more details of the painting. 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.

Ten New Paintings!

September 26, 2017 Natalie Wargin

"Peaceable Kingdom"18" x 24"Acrylic on birch panel$2200. — "Peaceable Kingdom"
18" x 24"
Acrylic on birch panel
$2200.

For the past ten months or so I've been busy working on new paintings for my November show at the Gardiner Library. I've completed ten - a visual representation of my beautiful surroundings. They are a timely reminder of what we can lose if we're not careful.

I'm offering all of these paintings for sale now, prior to the show, with the understanding that they won't ship until after the show closes on December 30. I hope you like this collection. To purchase a painting please contact me via the "Contact" page or at natalie@nataliewargin.com. You can also email me for detail images of any of the paintings or for a more detailed price list with a description of each piece. And you can see my work-in-progress
at instagram.com/nataliewargin/

If you're nearby you can check out the show or come and meet me at the reception.
The show runs from November 14 through December 30.
Opening reception:
Saturday, November 18 from 12pm until 2pm.
Gardiner Library
133 Farmer's Turnpike
Gardiner, NY 12525

"Vultures at High Falls"24" x 18"Acrylic on birch panel$2200. — "Vultures at High Falls"
24" x 18"
Acrylic on birch panel
$2200.

"Maggie"18" x 24"Acrylic on birch panel$2200. — "Maggie"
18" x 24"
Acrylic on birch panel
$2200.

"Slabsides"24" x 18" Acrylic on birch panel$2200. — "Slabsides"
24" x 18"
Acrylic on birch panel
$2200.

"Lodges"18" x 24" Acrylic on birch panel$2200. — "Lodges"
18" x 24"
Acrylic on birch panel
$2200.

"Pleasant"18" x 24"Acrylic on birch panel$3200. — "Pleasant"
18" x 24"
Acrylic on birch panel
$3200.

"Red Barn with Fox"12" x 18"Acrylic gouache on birch panel$900. — "Red Barn with Fox"
12" x 18"
Acrylic gouache on birch panel
$900.

"Coyote"18" x 12"Acrylic on birch panel$900. — "Coyote"
18" x 12"
Acrylic on birch panel
$900.

"Autumn Orchard"12" x 16"Acrylic on birch panel$1200. — "Autumn Orchard"
12" x 16"
Acrylic on birch panel
$1200.

"Winter Barns"12" x 18"Acrylic on birch panel$1200. — "Winter Barns"
12" x 18"
Acrylic on birch panel
$1200.

Again, If you have questions please email me via the "Contact" page or at natalie@nataliewargin.com. Thanks for taking a look!

"One Morning" + FREE SHIPPING!

May 27, 2016 Natalie Wargin

That's my neighborhood to the left of the big tree. My house is the eyebrow colonial more or less in the middle. The one with the intelligent dog in the yard. This is what a cool spring morning is like. There's a bit of woodsmoke coming from the chimneys. A lot of rain has fallen, turning things that special early green and the blossoms are beginning to bloom. Along with the woodsmoke is the scent of wild pink honeysuckle. The dogwood is especially showy. There's a breeze tossing the trees a bit. The Catskills have my back, the sky above is overcast and cloudy. Maybe there will be more rain.

To the right of the big tree is a spot that Maggie and I discovered while walking in the woods behind our house. We like to follow the deer paths and on one particular day we came to a spot with seven indentations in the dry fallen leaves. I knew what it was as soon as I saw it, the place where the deer sleep. The deer were gone, of course, but I've added them here. All sleeping peacefully. All but the one keeping watch.

The topsy-turvy arrangement of the houses and barns on the left surprised me but it is accurate. I wasn't sure about that crazy blue fence and didn't think it would survive the painting but there it is. It's only an invention but it grew on me.

This is a 16" x 12" acrylic painting on cradled birch board.
It's available here in my shop:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/295064831/original-acrylic-painting-one-morning?ref=shop_home_active_1

For free shipping on any order use coupon code HAPPY
Code expires on May 31.

To see work in progress on this painting take a look at my Instagram page:
https://www.instagram.com/nataliewargin/