Zines! Workshop & Gallery Show

December 11, 2014 Natalie Wargin

Last month I attended a "Zine" workshop at Roos Gallery, a nice little gallery in my town of Rosendale. There were two artists instructing us in various ways of folding, assembling, writing and printing our zines. They also told us about the history of zines that started out as "Fanatic Magazines", primarily produced on photocopiers by fans that followed rock bands and wanted to help promote them. Heige Kim, who owns and operates Roos Gallery, put out a call for entries for a December "Zine" show. All would be exhibited and all would be for sale. Perfect timing for interesting Christmas shopping.

Last weekend the "Zine "show opened with dozens of entries created by dozens of artists. The creative community has embraced the zine and they're not just about favorite rock bands anymore -- they covered personal philosophy, poetry, illustrations, cartoons, favorite quotes and more. They were simple, complicated, photocopied, computer generated, professionally printed, hand painted, stapled, stitched, colorful, and simple black & white. It was a wonderful show. My entry is shown above, my "Weeds" paintings put to a new use.

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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The Weed Paintings Continue -- Queen Anne's Lace

August 26, 2014 Natalie Wargin

There's a lot of Queen Anne's Lace along the road these days. I started photographing it as reference for this series of weed paintings and only then noticed that many of the flower heads have a single deep purple flower right in the center. Apparently there's some legend about a lace making contest among a queen's handmaids and a pricked finger and a drop of blood of course. But the thing that surprised and somewhat dismayed me is that I'd never noticed the purple flower before. I've seen these weeds forever and had simply never noticed.

Prints of the painting and the painting itself will appear in my Etsy shop sometime soon.

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

New Paintings, New Prints!

August 1, 2014 Natalie Wargin

Today I've listed some new paintings and prints in my Etsy shop. Several of the paintings are part of a series I'm working on, a series of "Weeds." I'm enjoying this topic. There are so many pretty, interesting weeds just about anywhere you look. Besides just looking at the weeds along the roadside and at the many, many in my own yard, I'm learning some things. For instance, I never noticed that Queen Anne's Lace has a single deep purple blossom right in its pure white center.
Stop by and see what's new!
I'm offering free shipping on any order through August 15. Use this code at checkout:
FREESHIP

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