Old and New

OLD AND NEW

Nancy Herman

6" x 8"

oil on canvas board

Visiting a friend in downtown Philadelphia, I spotted these two buildings in the early evening sun, united by the sun but representing very different periods.

Looking for some words to describe the old and the new, I ran across this poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson, Memoriam.  It is living proof that humans don't really change and the old and the new are united by their desire for a better life, while struggling with the same problems.  Tennyson writing in the middle of the 19th century had these words to welcome the new year.  Here is one stanza.

Ring out a slowly dying cause,    

And ancient forms of party strife;    

Ring in the nobler modes of life, 

With sweeter manners, purer laws. 

In 2013 I would wish for exactly the same things.

Here is a link to the whole poem:

http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/16131

$150.00

GIRL CROSSING

GIRL CROSSING

9" x 12"

Nancy Herman

oil on canvas board

Back to Brooklyn, full of young people going places in a hurry.

$350.00

CHURCH BELL

CHURCH BELL

Nancy Herman

6" x 8"

oil on canvas board

Church bells can resonate in our emotional baggage.  At one end of the spectrum we have John Donne's famous words to remember,  "know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee."

At the other end and more in keeping with the spirit of this painting is "Ding, Dong the bells are gonna chime" from "I'm Get-tin Married in the Morning".

Here is a link to it, sung by Stanley Holloway from MY FAIR LADY.  There is a small vignette of Audrey Hepburn, looking absolutely beautiful in the beginning.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quau_OgXWVU

$150.00

Church Bell

CHURCH BELL

Nancy Herman

6" x 8"

oil on canvas board

Church bells can resonate in our emotional baggage.  At one end of the spectrum we have John Donne's famous words to remember,  "know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee."

At the other end and more in keeping with the spirit of this painting is "Ding, Dong the bells are gonna chime" from "I'm Get-tin Married in the Morning".

Here is a link to it, sung by Stanley Holloway from MY FAIR LADY.  There is a small vignette of Audrey Hepburn, looking absolutely beautiful in the beginning.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quau_OgXWVU

THE DESK

THE DESK

Nancy Herman

6" x 8"

oil on canvas board

There was a time, not so very long ago, when the only way you could reach a friend was to write a letter.  No telephones, no computers, no email or FAX machines existed.  So, the desk with its paper and writing instruments at the ready, was your communication station.  

In order to write a letter to a friend you had to dig deep inside and think about what had happened recently, say within the month, and reflect on how you felt about that.  Letter writing was a time of contemplation, and receiving a letter — those wonderful fat, hand addressed envelopes, was a real occasion.   The whole procedure had an esthetic component, from the hand writing, the choice of words, the stationary, to the stamp chosen for the envelope.

The mailman was the trusted carrier of the most personal words from person to person over time.  We were a diferent species, I think, when we were letter writers.

$150.00

SOLD

Imperative

Here is a link to the latest in my video series, SQUARES LOOKING FOR A HOME.
This one is called IMPERATIVE as the squares are moving inevitably towards their final destination.
http://youtu.be/aNzPdYW7RT0
Here is a link to the first video in the series EQUIPOISE.
http://youtu.be/a9AQ8r0o3b0

The Lido

THE LIDO

Nancy Herman

6' x 8"

oil on stretched canvas

Back to traveling the virtual roads on Google maps.  I found this wonderfully painted motel on the Lido in Italy.

Many, many years ago my family camped on the Lido beach on our way to Venice.  I think these joyful colors capture the feeling of that time very well for me.

$150.00

PEACH TULIP

• 
• 
  
• PEACH TULIP
• Nancy Herman
• 6" x 8"
• oil on stretched canvas
• 
  
• I love tulips.  They are so pure and simple.  The sun shinning through their rich colored petals seems the essence of new life and the heart of spring.
• 
  
• This from Wikipedia
• "In Persia, to give a red tulip was to declare your love. The black center of the red tulip was said to represent the lover's heart, burned to a coal by love's passion. To give a yellow tulip was to declare your love hopelessly and utterly."
• Here is alink to a very fine poem by Sylvia Plath about tulips she received in the hospital.
• http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/178974
• 
  
• $150.00
• 

EQUIPOISE (final)

Okay, here is where the trumpets blare and the fanfare announces the finished piece.
If you are still with me on this design journey, we have reached our goal.
This piece again created in Flash started with music as a guide to the length of the piece.  I decided I wanted to have each square be one measure of the music so I knew how long it had to be.  I found a piece of music that I thought would suit the idea and began placing the squares on the screen in the order that they would eventually reach, after a small journey.  The journey ended up being quite interesting (at least to me).  Some cool things happen along the way and it all turns out as planned and then some.
In the middle of the piece I decided the music I had chosen did not say what it should, so I had to go searching again, but this time I found just the right tone with the Satie.  The animation works on the idea of imbalance and resolution and the Satie has an oriental feel to it that is just what I wanted.  It also has a very regular beat which fits the design.  The whole thing turns out to be quite calming and meditative.  It does take almost 4 minutes so put your feet up, have a martini at the end of the day and give it a try.

http://youtu.be/a9AQ8r0o3b0

Equipoise try #2

My first try at a video that might show the joy of arranging colors didn't work out because I was not able to capture the screen in Photoshop the same way each time and presenting colors randomly was not visually satisfying.  So I decided to play a bit in Flash to see what might work there.

I didn't have a plan, just wanted to fool around to see some affects I have not tried before.

After a pretty short time I decided I liked the way the squares moved around and the way they came on to the screen but I definitely wanted to have a specific plan in the next attempt.

The music in this piece and yesterday's was chosen after I made the video just for fun.  It is music that I can use, as it is copyright free, a very nice feature.  I have a collection that I store in itunes and in this case I tried out those pieces that were the same length as my animation and found ones that seemed to be in the same spirit as the video.

Here is the the "play" video.

Tomorrow - the final version.

http://youtu.be/JItWYbc1Kao

EQUIPOISE in process part 1

Since I last posted I had an opening and a new idea for some visual music.  I did not paint all last week, in part because I was busy getting ready for the show, planting and weeding my garden and working on the new idea.

I have not talked much about the process of making art on this blog but since I have at hand 2 examples of how this idea evolved I thought I would give it a try.

After posting HAPPINESS ATTACK I got to thinking that what thrills me about working with color is that, given any set of colors, there is always an arrangement that seems "right," and it is the process of finding the arrangement that is as good as looking at the final product.  So making a video of the process might give an idea of that fun and maybe be fun to watch.

I decided to go with the colors in this photo because I really don't know how I can paint this scene again yet, although I love the colors and every year I do paint this tree, as I planted it to celebrate my mother's birthday, April 15.

At first I decided to just randomly grab colors in Photoshop and place them in squares in a grid in imovie.  I like the transition option called "cross dissolve" which does not exist in Flash so I decided to make the squares appear and move gently into each other in this very time consuming way.  

I liked the way it looked at first but I soon realized that it was going to be almost impossible to "screen grab" the colors in Photoshop and get each grab exactly the same.  I also had not arranged the colors previously so unless I could scoot them around they would not be in order.   I continued to fill in the squares just to be sure random wouldn't work.  It didn't........ so I simply morphed the arranged colors on at the end.

Here is that video.  Don't worry if you get tired of looking at it pretty quickly, I did too.  It is only 2 minutes and 18 seconds so you might like to see the whole thing however.

http://www.youtube.com/user/illuminata?feature=guide

Second try tomorrow.

HAPPINESS ATTACK

HAPPINESS ATTACK

Nancy Herman

archival print

While I am busy getting ready for the show at the Graver's Lane Gallery and weeding and planting my garden, I thought I would bring you some prints that I especially like.
These prints are produced in Photoshop.  I choose a painting whoose colors particularly appeal to me, scan the painting into Photoshop and select colors from it at random. Then I arrange them in order from dark to light filling squares as I go.  Once I have a very large group I select portions of the group and combine and recombine them until I have a combination that I like.  This is a way for me to combine my love of painting and pattern making.
Here is one of my favorites.  It represents my state of heart in the Spring.

This print can  12" x 12" - $100.00, 20" x 20" - $300.00, 36" x 36" - $500.00

Size
12" x 12" $100.00 USD
20" x 20" $300.00 USD
36" x 36" $500.00 USD

INSIDE THE ANTIQUE SHOP

INSIDE THE ANTIQUE SHOP

Nancy Herman

6" x 8"

oil on stretched canvas

Inside an antiques shop on Germantown Avenue in Chestnut Hill I spoted these textures and light.  I love old things with there patina of experience.  The edges are worn away and only the essence of a previous time shine through in a lovely old artifact.

A Promo for my show

I am busy pulling weeds and planting seeds but here is a nice promo for my show coming up in May at the Graver's Lane Gallery in Chestnut Hill.  

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.

chestnut hill hotel

Chestnut Hill Hotel

Nancy Herman

9" x 12"

oil on canvas board

From a Philly guide site:

 "The Chestnut Hill Hotel is a 36-room boutique hotel on Germantown Avenue in the heart of Chestnut Hill. Starting with an inn on that location in 1772, the hotel was rebuilt in 1865 and was refurbished in 2011 to have a historic look and modern convenience. It is surrounded by the Chestnut Hill Farmers’ Market, the Chestnut Hill Grille and an outdoor restaurant."

It certainly looks inviting on any sunny day in the warm weather as people sit outside under the porch and enjoy a meal.  I love the way the sky is reflected in the windows on this beautiful spring day.  This painting will be in my show at the Graver's Lane Gallery in May.

BULGARIA

BULGARIA

Nancy Herman

9" x 12"

oil on canvas board

This month the Virtual Paintout traveled  to Bulgaria and I went along for the ride.  Google's car with camera was there in the winter in the parts of Bulgaria that I traveled through, and it was pretty dismal scenery with lots of ramshackle housing and grey fields piled with junk.  Finally came accross this old building overlooking the mountains and settled down to paint.  I was attracted to the grey-blues and dusty oranges.

$350.00

OASIS ON THE AVENUE

OASIS ON THE AVENUE

Nancy Herman

9" x 12"

oil on canvas board

Right in the heart of the shopping district in Chestnut Hill there is this lovely place to sit down and relax amid some well kept nature.  What a difference this kind of old faashioned town is compared to shopping in a mall with piped in music and nature confined to the very outskirts of the parking lot.

$350.00

Sunny House

SUNNY HOUSE

Nancy Herman

9" x 12"

oil on canvas board

This house in Chestnut Hill seems almost to contain sunshine.  It's cheery countenance is for me a smile.  That may be because it is very similar to a house I lived in when I was growing up in the country.  My mother looked for years for a house with windows down to the floor and finally found one in Worcester, Pennsylvania.  It looked a lot like this but was in the middle of several acres that were for me a little paradise, a refuge from the sturm und drang of adolescence.

$350.00

GREENS AND CREAM

GREENS AND CREAM

Nancy Herman

oil on canvas board

9" x 12"

For me buildings always have an expression of some kind.  I was so entranced by the greens and cream of this old building on Germantown Avenue in Chestnut Hill, that I didn't notice the expression on its face.  Eyes set high in its' "head"  with several "teeth" missing, it resembles a smiling jack - lantern. 

$350.00

FIRST FLOOR APARTMENT

FIRST FLOOR APARTMENT

Nancy Herman

9" x 12"

oil on canvas board

I have always been fascinated by the inside of people's houses.  Rooms without people are an invitation to imagine. For that reason I love to walk the streets of Park Slope because there it is possible to see into windows and doorways and imagine what goes on behind the curtains or the bars.  On this sunny day someone has left the light on, or were they reading and left to answer the phone, or is it a welcoming light for a daytime assignation?

$350.00

SUNDAY PAPER

SUNDAY PAPER

Nancy Herman

9" x 12"

oil on canvas board

What could be better than a lazy sunny Sunday morning in a friendly coffee shop with the Sunday paper.  First latte finished and not even to the crossword puzzle yet.

SOLD

$350.00

WOMAN AND DOG ON THE CORNER

WOMAN AND DOG ON THE CORNER

Nancy Herman

9" x 12"

oil on canvas board

This woman will be standing on this corner in Parkslope in her flowered dress with her little dog forever, and the man in black will never get where he is going.  Such is the power of a painting or snapshot.  We look back at pictures we have saved and they become our history.  The artist and the photographer shape our memories in ways so subtle we don't even notice.

$350.00

TIME AND SPACE

Nancy Herman

9" x 12"

oil on canvas board

Glass is such a unique surface.  It is transparent and also reflects images.  It takes its identity from that combination, as without seeing what is reflected on the surface or what is behind the glass we would not know it was there.   If there were dirt on the surface we would be aware of the glass but even that is not inherent in the glass itself.

In this painting there is a lot of space, beginning with the sky itself which goes on into infinity, then the tree outside the wall, the ceiling moving towards us, the candelabra, the clock and finally, the edge of the clock, getting right up close.  All brought to us by a piece of glass which isn't actually visable at all.  Is the artist like a piece of glass,  revealing some version of reality, while also showing what's under the surface? 

sold

$350.00

THE RED WHEELBARROW

THE RED WHEELBARROW

Nancy Herman

6" x 8"

oil on canvas board

I like to stroll in Bala Cynwyd because of all the wonderful old houses with their many tales ready to be painted.  This little red wheelbarrow is waiting for the imagination of some child to carry - what?  What will this girl or boy dream up to tote around the yard in that semi dream that only childhood make-believe produces.

I can't resist changing William Carlos William's lovely poem THE RED WHEEL BARROW to fit this painting.

So much depends

upon

a red wheel 

barrow

bathed in sun

beside the white

columns

Don't miss this animated version of the original poem on youtube.  I didn't realize when I spotted that wheelbarrow that I was not the only one who found red wheelbarrows resonant with more than their carrying potential.

$150.00

VILNIUS, LITHUANIA

VILNIUS, LITHUANIA

Nancy Herman

9" x 12"

oil on canvas board

$350.00

SOLD

The virtual paintout traveled to Vilnius, Lithuania this month.  I put myself down in the oldest part of town because my father-in-law originally came from the countryside right outside of, what was then, Vilna.  He went to school in the town so I imagined him on these streets.  Once when asked if he would like to go back and visit the old country he said, "Are you nuts"?. 

I can see why when I travel along these streets and see a magnificent church around almost every turn.  I imagine Charlie as a young Jew, who was frightened by pograms, gazing from one of these narrow streets at one of these churches and experiencing nothing but anger.  It is ironic that when he came to America he ended up on the south side of Chicago and forever after spoke with an irish brogue.  He came to this country when he was 11, not speaking a word of English, with very little money, eventually working in the stock yards while going to medical school, graduating when he was 27.  He was a tough guy, a man of few words, who was forever grateful to be an American.

Charlie

FIRST SIGN OF SPRING 2013

FIRST SIGN OF SPRING 2013

Nancy Herman

6' x 8"

oil on canvas board

Every year since I began this blog I have painted at least one crocus composition.  I am always thrilled to see the crocus covering the banks of the stream in Merion Park.  This year I caught the light just as the crocus were in the sun and shading their background.  They are perfectly beautiful, pure flowers with their pale violet petals and their yellow and orange centers.  It is almost as if they represent a great sigh of nature as winter gradually passes.

$150.00

FIRST SIGN OF SPRING 2012

SPRING STREAM 2011

FIRST SIGN OF SPRING 2012

CROCUS 2010

DOOR KNOCKER

DOOR KNOCKER

Nancy Herman

6" x 8"

oil on canvas board

This door knocker seems to be saying, "I dare you to use me".  A wonderful mixed message found on 6th Avenue in Brooklyn's Park slope.  Who lives there, I wonder, a fortune teller, sorceress, or little old lady with a good sense of humor?

$150.00