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!

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.

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!

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!