WEDDING DRESS AT THE CLEANERS

WEDDING DRESS AT THE CLEANERS

Nancy Herman

8" x 6"

oil on canvas

I think I have seen more wedding dresses in the windows of cleaning establishments in small towns than on brides.  This one in Narberth caught my eye as some departing customers were reflected in the window.

$125.00

LIFEGUARDS

LIFEGUARDS

Nancy Herman

8" x 6"

oil on canvas

Growing up going to the shore every summer I was a little in love with one life guard after another.  That athletic, tanned, manhood keeping everyone safe from the 'undertoad' got my rapt attention every time.  Finally, when I was 16, I was invited to the Life Guard's Ball by one of these God's of the beach.

I thought that experience, which was more of a wrestling match than a ball, had cured me of this fascination forever.  However, while thinking about this painting, I realized I actually married a swimmer who was at one time a Life Guard. 

$125.00

ARE YOU COMING?

ARE YOU COMING?

Nancy Herman

8" x 6"

oil on canvas

Going along with the painting as narrative, this painting is actually quite a long story.  Although I am against the artist or anybody else telling people what paintings are 'about,' I will tell you what I think this one is about just as an example of what goes on in one painter's head when they are at work.

I was first drawn to the neon sign and the odd colors reflected on this old cobblestone street in Philadelphia.  I stopped to take a few pictures of it on my way to meet friends for dinner.

                                                            Photo

When I got home and began looking over what I had to work with, I realized the photos were much too big and complicated to do on such a small scale so I had to decide what the painting was to be about and how to compose some portion of the photos.  I wanted to include the bicycles because of the shapes and the environmental meaning of bicycles but no matter how I arranged the composition it just didn't make a story that I cared about.   Then I noticed one of the shots included my mate waiting impatiently on the other side of the street, and suddenly I knew what the painting was about and how to compose it.

The triangle that is created between the waiting person, the person he is looking at (me) and the neon sign is the composition.  It is perfect because that is the narrative of the painting.
There is always tension between wanting to be a part of the life around you and wanting to create art from that experience, and here is a picture of that conflict.  Art is an escape from and a refuge from life, but life is what art is about so you can't be taking pictures when you have friends to meet for dinner...or can you?

To purchase this painting
Click this link for Daily Paintworks auction
http://www.dailypaintworks.com/Buy/Auction/16125http://www.dailypaintworks.com/Buy/Auction/16125

SUNDAY ART SERMON

The sun is out finally and I feel like pontificating so here is my Sunday Art Sermon.                                    

A painting is always a story that the artist is telling the viewer.  The story begins, "once upon a time I was here and saw this.  I thought it was so interesting or beautiful or meaningful that I spent time trying to bring it to life in paint".  If it is an abstract painting it is still the same message because as the artist is painting away he or she comes to a point and says, "Here, this is the story I want to tell" and stops. They may be saying something like, "The way the blue meets the slightly orangish purple and doesn't impose itself too harshly upon the eye is so ravishing that nothing else could possibly add to the story."
There is often more to the story than the first impression and when there are many layers of meaning the painting resonates in ways that can't be said in words, that's why it is a painting instead of a short story...and yet art critics spend much time putting into words what has been said more eloquently in paint.
However, sometimes these words are more eloguent than the paintings themselves as art critics are extremely inventive. Since people are in general much more comfortable reading an explanation of a painting than actually experiencing the art work, I think this explains why some quite unremarkable art becomes very popular for a time.  Critics and gallery owners presented with the job of explaining art work that doesn't really contain anything, come up with some creative narratives about it.  People who prefer to read something concrete rather than look at the art work get the story from the writer, then "see" that story in the art work.  Eventually this art work is 'seen' for what it really is as the story doesn't hold up without the words to prop it up.
For me the old maxim "Seeing is believing" when appreciating art is the holy grail.  And even "I don't know anything about art, but I know what I like" has merit.  At least this speaker is trusting his or her own judgement about what they see rather than someone else's story about it.

Everybody In

Live in the sunshine, swim in the sea, drink the wild air ~  Ralph Waldo Emerson


After the quiet sparkling morning on the beach,  the day is filled with the carnival of colorful umbrellas and the chairs of the day revelers. The edge of the sea seems to bring out a universal joy in human beings as if they feel at home at last.


$125.00

SUN AND SHADOWS IN NEW ORLEANS

SUN AND SHADOWS IN NEW ORLEANS

Nancy Herman

8" x 6"

oil on canvas

Off to New Orleans for a brief excursion via Google maps for the Virtual Paint out, I was drawn to these colorful shadows on Bourbon Street.

  

If this scene seems a bit cheery, considering all the hardship that New Orleans has suffered in the past several years, it isn't that I don't appreciate that sadness.  I have to admit to looking for the sunny side of life if possible when I paint.  I figure if I'm going to spend several hours painting something I might as well experience pleasure in imagining or remembering the scene depicted.  Painting for me is a way to spend a few hours in solitary pursuit of a pleasant memory and trying to bring that experience to others.  The one exception to that in recent years was my painting of the nursery school in Saito Japan .  It was very hard to paint this as the city was completely destroyed in the tsunami.

$125.00

KOHR BROTHERS

KOHR BROTHERS

Nancy Herman

8" x 6"

oil on canvas board

What a treat, a trip to the boardwalk topped off by a delicious cone of frozen custard.  I don't think I will ever be too old to get a kick out of that. Going for a walk "on the boards" as my grandparents would say was the "icing on the cake" of the shore experience. The smell of salt air, mixed with cotton candy and pop corn still summons up waves of nostalgia for the days when I was one of those kids filled with awe, waiting to grab the brass ring.

$125.00

EYE TO EYE WITH A SEAGULL

EYE TO EYE WITH A SEAGULL

Nancy Herman

6" x 8"

oil on canvas board

One day at the beach in the very early morning I stood watching the birds for quite a while.  I saw one seagull who seemed actually to be crashing into the waves the way many of us do when first jumping into the ocean.  It finally flew away but it was very heavy with water at first and flew low for a while, I guess until it dried off a bit.  Then it soared off. I found this very amusing. I never thought about the possibility that birds might actually play in the ocean..but why not?   Suddenly I found there were some eyes on me. Another seagull was standing very near looking straight at me, as if to say, "What's so funny".

$125.00

Plugs

Newest painting not quite dry, but my stars must be lined up in a favorable pattern this week as there is another unsolicited plug for my blog appearing today on line.

http://ardmore.patch.com/

LAST TO LEAVE

LAST TO LEAVE

Nancy Herman

8" x 6"

oil on canvas board

This is the time of day to sit on the beach, after the crowds have dissappeared and the sun is low and golden.

This subject reminds me of the postcards I used to send from the seashore.  How rarely I get or send a postcard anymore.  Part of the reason I named my blog "Postcards from Merion" was because I always loved getting and sending postcards.  The idea of a little colored card sailing out through so many hands to reach a friend seemed so wonderful to me as a child ...and still does.  I only hope we keep using the mail so no more post offices have to close.

$125.00

Following the Light

I just "stumbled" upon this article about my work.  It is well written and extremely flattering so naturally I love it.  Not sure why the author didn't let me know about it so I could circulate it when it came out but I sure do appreciate the kind words.

http://emptyeasel.com/2011/03/23/nancy-herman-following-the-light/

WHITES

WHITES

Nancy Herman

8" x 6"

oil on canvas board

Every summer when I was growing up we went to the seashore to my grandparents house across from the bay in Ocean City for a month or so.  Various combinations of aunts, uncles and cousins sat on the big, wide porch for hours.  It was on the second floor of the house looking over at the bay.   When the awning was up and we could see the sky my grandfather would comment on the weather.  Such gems as, "If there is enough blue in the sky to make a pair of pants for a Dutchman it will clear."  

When the awning was down the adults would comment on the people who lived across the street and the boats that went by.  Sometimes my grandmother would play Go Fish with me, but otherwise it was an adult world.  The most exciting thing that happened was if I was allowed to put the awning up or down.  There was generally a calm controlled feeling to these lazy days for me.  Who knows what was going on in the hearts of the adults assembled there, with all of their passions held carefully in check in order to preserve the required decorum for the oldest generation.

$125.00