FADING AWAY

FADING AWAY

Nancy Herman

12" x 9"

oil on canvas board

On a recent trip to New York on the train I caught this old house on my camera as we sat in Amtrak comfort whizzing by.  I will add it to my "From the Train" series.  You can see the series by going to my web site www.nancyherman.com, then to "paintings" and then to "From the Train".

What is it about properties that are falling apart that is so fascinating?  Certainly for me part of the interest is in speculating about what is happening inside...are people still living there or has it been taken over by rodents and insects?  What is the ladder doing on the roof?  I also am fascinated by what happens over time to structures once lovingly made by humans.  How long will it take for nature to completely destroy this structure?  As the paint peels and weathers, the doors fall away, vines climb in and out of the windows and graffiti does its own climbing, the house does in its way become more and more beautiful, reassembling an abstract painting.

$250.00

Graffiti and Snow

Graffiti and Snow

Nancy Herman

6' x 8"

oil on canvas board

This building resonates with color. The graffiti seems to be blending with the snow.  Or is the snow creating its own lively statement?

According to Wikipedia, "Both "graffiti" and its occasional singular form "graffito" are from the Italian word graffiato("scratched"). "Graffiti" is applied in art history to works of art produced by scratching a design into a surface. A related term is "sgraffito",^[4] which involves scratching through one layer of pigment to reveal another beneath it. In ancient times graffiti were carved on walls with a sharp object, although sometimes chalk or coal were used. The word originates from Greek γράφειν — graphein — meaning "to write."

$150.00

WAITING FOR A TRAIN

WAITING FOR A TRAIN

Nancy Herman

9" x 12"

oil on canvas board

Waiting for your train can be a lonely business.  Here is an old video of Jimmy Rogers singing Waiting for a Train. (Don't miss the train sounds in the beginning)

This painting is of the Chestnut Hill train station and will be in my show in May at the Graver's Lane Gallery.

SPACES

Spaces

Nancy Herman 

8" x 6"

oil on canvas board

As you come into 30th Street Station on the train from New York, just before you get to the station, there is this space.  Nothing is there except for the shadow, the trash can and a pile of trash.  But there are hints of other places.  The car is just beginning to cross the bridge, the space under the bridge is leading somewhere, and there are just a glimpse of Philadelphia sky scrapers in the distance.  The tracks in the foreground are headed home.  It is a space pregnant with possibilities.

$125.00