THE DREAM - continued- The Bridge

THE DREAM

Bridge

Nancy Herman

6" x 8"

The moon gives way to a quiet dawn as I continue my way home in the morning mist.

THE DREAM (moon)

THE DREAM (moon)

Nancy Herman

6' x 8"

oil on canvas board

Having missed the last bus heading home, I begin to walk down a deserted road in the night.  What lies ahead? Where is home?

THE DREAM (missed the bus)

THE DREAM

(missed the bus)

Nancy Herman

6" x 8"

oil on canvas board

My dreaming self is in the station waiting for a train or on the street corner waiting for a bus to take me home.  I'm not sure which one to take, but I sense there is just one for me, when I see that very one has just left.  I see it roll past, knowing there is not another.

(Interesting that I never try to get home by boat or plane)

Here is some new research that would suggest that sleep is simply a way of emptying the trash in our brains.

THE DREAM (in the station)

THE DREAM (in the station)

Nancy Herman

6' x 8'

oil on canvas board

Filled with a strong longing for home I go into a train or bus station.  Not sure which bus or train to take but know there is just one for me.  Home is a combination of all the places I have ever lived, so finding the right way back is bound to be tricky.

THE DREAM ( the classroom)

THE DREAM

(classroom)

Nancy Herman

6" x 8"

oil on canvas board

The classroom is spotted but never entered.  Others are hard at work,  but in my dream my focus shifts to getting home....and so, after wanting to get there so badly, I pass by.

THE DREAM (searching)

THE DREAM

(searching)

Nancy Herman

6" x 8"

oil on canvas board

I am several minutes, hours, days, years?... late for class.  I can't find the door, stairs, elevator or building.  I am searching frantically for the right place, but haven't gotten there yet.

THE DREAM (tunnel)

THE DREAM

(tunnel)

Nancy Herman

6" x 9

oil on canvas board

Another painting in my "waking dream sequence", wherein I try to get in touch with the author of my dreams.

THE DREAM (Shoes)

THE DREAM

(Shoes)

Nancy Herman

6" x 8"

oil on canvas board

Some day, before I go, I'd like to know, the author or my dreams, and so....

for the next few days I will be painting a dream.  I am trying to "find the way back" as in this quote from Robert Louis Stevenson's poem The Land of Nod.

"Try as I like to find the way,
I never can get back by day,
Nor can remember plain and clear
The curious music that I hear."

RED MAPLES

RED MAPLE

Nancy Herman

6" x 8"

oil on canvas board

Fall is slowly moving in.  The sun is lower every day and the trees are beginning to turn.  It is a time when nature seems to breath a sigh and meld together as if to cuddle close for the coming winter.

$150.00

Summer Market

Summer Market

6" x 8"

Nancy Herman

oil on canvas board

Although the painting itself is sold, you can purchase a reproduction of it in my book Postcards from Merion from Amazon for only $11.99 today.

http://www.amazon.com/Postcards-From-Merion-Pennsylvania-Clearwater/dp/1491213353

INTO THE BATHROOM - a study in blue and yellow

INTO THE BATHROOM

(A study in blue and yellow) 

Nancy Herman

9" x 12"

oil on canvas board

 Thomas Aquinas said, "Sorrow can be alleviated by a good sleep, a bath and a glass of wine".  I rarely take a bath anymore, preferring the speed of the shower, but a leisurely bath can be just the thing to sooth jangled nerves at the end of the day.

$350.00

GROUNDED

GROUNDED

Nancy Herman

9" x 12"

oil on canvas board

An old model airplane silhouetted in front of an attic window seems to be longing for flight.

$350.00

OLDIES BUT GOODIES

OLDIES BUT GOODIES

Nancy Herman

9" x 12"

oil on canvas board

This old toy milk truck sits in the sun on a shelf in our den.  It doesn't enjoy the rough and tumble of the old days when children loaded and unloaded its cargo of bottles in home after imaginary home.  It is in retirement after years of good work in the service of make believe.

$350.00

FIRST SIGNS OF AUTUMN

First Signs of Autumn

Nancy Herman

9" x 12"

oil on canvas board

DRIVING IN THE FOG

DRIVING IN THE FOG

Nancy Herman

oil on canvas board

6" x 8"

Just one of the paintings of local scenes to be found in my book POSTCARDS FROM MERION.

It is on Montgomery Avenue right before you get to Suburban Square.

The book can be purchased from Amazon.com.

OPEN

OPEN

Nancy Herman

oil on canvas board

9" x 12"

What is more fun than buying a toy for a special child?  You know that there is a chance you will open up a world for them that in some sense they will never forget.  This window is in Narberth at Character Development.  It is a rather awkward name for a toy store but the name certainly reflects the power of the right toy at the right time.

$350.00

Page from my book

Bryn Mawr Institute

If you live in the Main line you will recognize many of the places pictured in my new book POSTCARDS FROM MERION.  Here is one of the images you will find there.  I think you will have fun finding your favorite spots and sharing with friends.  You can purchase the book from Amazon by clicking the link.

NEW BOOK: Postcards from Merion

For the last several years I have been painting small works almost everyday.  Sometimes they take two days and sometimes the life of the family takes precedence over paint, but that is my plan.  Because of this somewhat rapid fire approach to painting, I have not given too much thought to my subject matter, except that I  paint what I want to see more of and it has to fit in a small space.  But it seems, themes have developed.   I love the area where I live and many of my paintings are of the simple beauty that exists on the Mainline.  It occurred to me that others might like a collection of scenes from this particular area and so I have collected a group of some of my favorite paintings and it is now in print.Published by Createspace, POSTCARDS FROM MERION is now available from Amazon.: http://www.amazon.com/Postcards-From-Merion-Pennsylvania-Clearwater/dp/1491213353

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ISLE OF WIGHT

ISLE OF WIGHT

Nancy Herman

12" x 9"

oil on canvas board

This month the Virtual Paintout visited the Isle of Wight, off the coast of England.  I found this cozy looking group of houses on Arthur Moody Drive.  Looks like Arthur is customarily in a good mood.

$350.00

Johnson's Blue

JOHNSON'S BLUE

Nancy Herman

9" x 12"

oil on canvas board

This Johnson's Blue Geranium is one of my favorite perennials.

I love this shade of blue.  It is hard to understand a preference for one color over another but when I see this color it makes me feel calm and happy.  This particular shade of green is also a favorite, so all in all the Johnson's Blue Geranium has everything.

$350.00

MERION STATION POST OFFICE

MERION STATION POST OFFICE

Nancy Herman

9" x 12"

oil on canvas board

This is a close up of Merion Station Post Office.  It was built in 1914 and is a designated historic building.  I was drawn to this painting because of the two shades of red orange, one brick and the other rust, sandwiching a lovely dusty blue.  

While looking for the date of construction, I came upon this very interesting article written by Theodore Roosevelt called MODEL MERION.  It praises the Merion Civic Association, which seems to have been very active and extremely helpful to the citizens at that time.  It also shows Roosevelt's views on the responsibilities necessary for a citizen in a Democracy. It is definitely worth reading.  Thanks to the Merion Civic Association for keeping this letter on their web site and for continuing to fight the good fight to keep Merion a lovely place to live.

$350.00

ROCKING CHAIR

ROCKING CHAIR

Nancy Herman

6" x 8"

oil on canvas board

It is summer, no coats necessary, the breeze smells like new mown grass and the rocking chair waits for someone to enjoy the porch and the passersby.

$150.00

EVENING LIGHT ON BEACH HOUSE

EVENING LIGHT ON BEACH HOUSE

Nancy Herman

6" x 8"

oil on canvas board

Summer is winding down and if you haven't been to the beach you probably are longing for a sniff of the sea and a moment or two to gaze out at a great expanse of ocean.  How nice it would be to have a house like this one to visit anytime you longed for that experience.

It is a precarious place to live these days but perhaps that even adds to the romance.

SOLD

$150.00

EXIT

EXIT

Nancy Herman

6" x 8"

oil on canvas board

It's always nice to know there is a way out.  If only all of life's sorrows had an easy escape hatch with a guiding light over the door.

$150.00

The Kiss

THE KISS

Nancy Herman

6" x 8"

oil on canvas board

Ah, love, nothing like it.  

SOLD

BEE BALM #2

BEE BALM #2

Nancy Herman

6" x 8"

oil on canvas board

These 'Mahagany' Bee Balm filled my garden with their exotic beauty for most of July.  The bees and the butterflies love them and their piquant scented leaves are a wonderful addition to the banquet of fragrances floating through the garden in the summer.

$150.00

Coleus

Coleus #2

Nancy Herman

9" x 12"

oil on canvas board

This combination of coleus, sweet potato vine and the Cordyline Australis with its exotic bluish leaves is one of the best color combinations I have 

found for my barrel of eye fun.

$350.00

HOLLYHOCKS #3

Hollyhocks #3

Nancy Herman

oil on canvas board

6" x 8"

Hollyhocks are the flowers I associate with my childhood.  I think they were the first flowers I actually became aware of.  In the fog of early consciousness I was attracted to their centers and then frightened by some unexpected movement inside - probably bees.  I still retain this simultaneous attraction - repulsion feeling whenever I come upon them.

That is probably why I only have one plant in my garden this beautiful soft pink.

Recently I visited some friends who had the most spectacular Hollyhocks I have ever seen surrounding their very extensive, beautiful gardens.  They were at least 8 feet tall and blooming like teenagers.

$150.00

Sang Kee

SANG KEE

Nancy Herman

6" x 8"

oil on canvas board

Sang Kee, my favorite neighborhood restaurant has everything,  great food, pleasant friendly servers and lots of happy bustle as it is a favorite of lots of people.

There is a lot to be said for being surrounded by other people who are having a good time.

sold

$125.00

Daily Paintworks

Yesterday's painting "Iris in the Morning" has been chosen as a pick of the day on the Daily Paintworks facebook page.
Check it out!
https://www.facebook.com/dailypaintworks

Iris in the Morning

IRIS IN THE MORNING

Nancy Herman

9" x 12"

oil on canvas board

I painted this in the spring but have not posted it because I was uncomfortable with it.  It has a religious feel.  I am not religious. When I am outside in my garden or in any grand natural space I do feel connected to the universe.  I worship the "earth and the fullness thereof" but not necessarily "those that dwell therein" and though I wish I could believe that there is a "father" up there looking after me, I simply can't.  The beauty of the words of the Lord's prayer are a comfort.  They were composed by someone with a great heart and fine sensibility.  I believe in the possibility that humans might be fair and just, but organized religion has not worked that magic.  It is time for humans to recognize they are responsible for the evil and the goodness in the world not God or the Devil. 

Why am I finally posting this painting?  Because looking at it over a few months has made me think.  Those rays of sun are generative and can be destructive.  They can nurture our garden or wither it.  There is all you need to know about life in the garden.  For me this is the place of worship.

CABBAGE

CABBAGE

Nancy Herman

6' x 8"

oil on canvas board

The weather is too hot for most of the day but in the very early morning, when the dew is still clinging to the vegetables it is glorious outside.  Here the sun peaks through the leaves of the cabbage and for a moment all is right with the world.

$150.00

PIZZA MAN

PIZZA MAN

Composition in red, black and white

Nancy Herman

6" x 8"

oil on canvas board

On a recent trip to Brooklyn I spotted this pizza maker enjoying the passing parade on a sidewalk in Park Slope.  

$150.00

APPARITION

Here is my latest video.  It is the third in the series RESTLESS RECTANGLES.  I love Satie and especially the three Gnossienne pieces.  I wanted to get the slightly eerie feeling they give me as well as the persistence of the arpeggios.  Let me know what you think.  It is less than 3 minutes so relax and take a break with some beautiful music.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPCfj2Sh_QU&feature=em-upload_owner#action=share