Flying Away

FLYING AWAY

Nancy Herman

6" x 8"

oil on canvas board

On these cold winter days it sounds like a good idea to be flying off to an exotic tropical paradise although this apartment building in Park Slope looks pretty cheery.

$150.00

CLOCK SHADOW

CLOCK SHADOW

Nancy Herman

6" x 8"

oil on canvas board

This bearded sentinel stands guard on either side of our old grandfather's clock in the hall at night.  His shadow self looks quite forbidding.  I'm sure any intruder would hesitate to go further.

$150.00

Handle Shadow

HANDLE SHADOW

Nancy Herman

6" x 8"

oil on canvas board

This very simple composition is strangely calming to me.  There is a question about where the actual handle is but somehow that brings in the rest of the world and so I don't mind if the answer is not there.

$150.00

Icicles

ICICLES

Nancy Herman

6' x 8"

oil on canvas board

Icicles are a delight unless one falls on your head.  I was tempted to grab one and do a little dueling with the shadows.  I opted for painting this combination instead.

$150.00

Brown and Fog

Yesterday I drove to town in the early morning while there was still a lot of fog rising from the small patches of snow remaining.  I drove through Fairmount Park a lot of the way as I wanted to see what winter had to offer in the way of natural beauty.  I was richly rewarded with deep resonant browns as everything was very wet and the fog in patches seemed to make the whole scene mysterious.  I sincerely regretted not having my camera along.
Today I googled 'rich browns and fog images' and was rewarded with this artist's work.  He got 'it' at another time and place.  You may want to see more of these beautiful pastels.

Daniel Lee Michael

SNOW CATCHERS

SNOW CATCHERS

Nancy Herman

6" x 8"

oil on canvas board

When I finish a painting I put it in a box that sits by my desk.  I have lots of boxes and each one has a label.  This painting fiits into the catagory of "little miracles".  The way the snow glistens on the top of each pile on the branch with the fantastic blue of the shadows setting it off gives me a thrill.  

If we can be alive to the little pleasures around us every day, there is a good chance we can be happy.

“A pleasure is full grown only when it is remembered.”
― C.S. Lewis, Out of the Silent Planet

“That pleasure which is at once the most pure, the most elevating and the most intense, is derived, I maintain, from the contemplation of the beautiful.”
― Edgar Allan Poe, Poems and Essays

$150.00

SOLD

Chard in the Snow

CHARD IN THE SNOW

Nancy Herman

6" x 8"

oil on canvas board

This painting is now for sale on papal

$150.00

CHARD IN THE SNOW

CHARD IN THE SNOW

Nancy Herman

oil on canvas board

6" x 8"

The photo this painting was based on came in second in the selections you voted for.  It was my favorite and I love the painting.  It can be yours by bidding on ebay.  I love auctions.  Let's see if you do too.

http://csr.ebay.com/cse/success.jsf?itemid=191027832930&mode=AddItem&draftId=205090391213

The Red Bike

It's New Year's Eve Day and most of you will be getting the glad rags on or stocking up on Champagne.  But, if you have 9 minutes and 5 seconds to spare, take a look at the silent movie I have been working on this month instead of painting.
It is an entry in the Bryn Mawr Film Institute's contest, which asks film makers to create a short film of 15 minute or less based on one in a list of classic films.  I chose The Bicylcle Thieves, an old Italian film by Director Vitorio DeSica.
As you will see it uses a lot of local talent - my Brooklyn children and grandchildren.  The best part is the score which was composed and performed in one go, just like in the old days, by my good old friend Squeek Steele who you might know as Squeek Moore, former music teacher at Merion School.
Here is the link. (This is not the absolutely final version but it is so close that utube would not accept it as another video, they thought the new one was the same)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqpeozwsP2M

SNOW SHADOWS

SNOW SHADOWS

Nancy Herman

6' x 8"

oil on canvas

Most of you voted for "Snow Shadows" as your favorite photo and here is the painting that resulted.  The snow is gone outside but it still remains in the memory of the painting.

Happy Holidays to all !!!

ICE 2

The spectacular ice display was not only a sparkling miracle.  It framed individual pieces of nature in a way that made me stop and marvel.

This flowering bush reminded of glazed fruit.

The branches suddenly have a new dancing life.

ICE

On Saturday there was a spectacular display of ice.  In the morning, when the sun came out, every branch was blazing with light.  I went out with my camera, knowing full well I would not be able to capture the miracle of it. But taking pictures is an excuse for experiencing...or a lie you tell yourself.  "I will capture this and have it forever".  I loved trying to capture it mainly because the act of trying made me slow down and really look.  The thrill of the visual experience is stored in my mind and I will think of it in the grey days ahead and look for other miracles of nature to store.

Close up sparkle

Further back- droplets melting

Poor version of the real experience although

accurate in most measurable parameters

In reality the whole place was alive with color.  The sparkles all contained every color and I could see the radience of  light everywhere.

Snow: Shadows under trees

I have not been blogging lately as I am working on a short silent movie for a contest sponsored by the Bryn Mawr Film Institute.  I love the place so I thought it would be fun to try to make a movie.  It is almost finished so I am taking time to look outside in this beautiful white world for some things to paint.
Here are some ideas.  What do you think is paint worthy?

Shadows under the trees

Branches

White House

Sap

Weeping Cherry

Swiss Chard

SUNNY ON RUGBY ROAD

SUNNY RUGBY STREET

Nancy Herman

6" x 8"

oil on canvas

Love the way the sun caught this yellow house on Rugby Road in Brooklyn's Ditmas Park.  I am especially partial to this street as an important part of my family lives here.

$150.00

special black Friday gift.

Need a present for a teacher, helper, great aunt or simply an art lover?

Today on amazon you can purchase my book for as low as $10.56.  

TRAVELING

Traveling

Nancy Herman

6" x 8"

oil on canvas board

Many people will be traveling today to join family and friends for Thanksgiving.  The long car rides can be exhausting, only ameliorated by some hearty singing, or in my case, by taking snap shots of interesting stuff flying by the car window.  (Not recommended for drivers.)

Here the Verrazano Bridge out of Brooklyn makes a nice combination of color and shape with the fall foliage peaking through the openings.

$150.00

Graffiti on Cortelyou

Graffiti on Cortelyou

Nancy Herman

6" x 8"

oil on canvas board 

I interupt my immersion in fall colors for a brief jaunt to Brooklyn to visit children and grandchildren in Park-slope and Ditmus Park.  Here is a shot on Cortelyou Road that looks like it could be from someplace in the middle east.  I love the way the neat graffiti matches the pipe and brings down a little sky.

$150.00

ORANGE TIME

ORANGE TIME

Nancy Herman

6" x 8"

oil on canvas board

Just a few days ago the world was tinted orange.  I woke one morning to find that the the mist in the air had captured the hues of the trees and the whole sky looked orange.  Here this house on Merion Road is surrounded by the warmth of the those lovely leaves reflected on the white of the trim and the windows.

$150.00

article in the Main Line Times

There was a very nice article and pictures in the Main Line Times on Saturday about the show at Town Hall Coffee and my book, Postcards from Merion.  You can check it out here.
http://www.mainlinemedianews.com/articles/2013/11/14/main_line_times/life/doc52852290ed398781195181.txt

MERION AND SYCAMORE

MERION AND SYCAMORE

Nancy Herman

6" x 8"

oil on canvas board

Every year this corner  has a brilliant display of light.  The suburbs, as opposed to the country, has a wide variety of color in the fall as there are so many different kinds of trees all changing color at different speeds.  We are bathed in this delightful warm display as if to keep us warm in the cold months ahead.

$150.00

EMPTY STREET IN AUTUMN

EMPTY STREET IN AUTUMN

Nancy Herman

6' x 8"

oil on canvas board

This fall has been almost too beautiful.  Every day I drive through my neighborhood having dificulty keeping my eyes on the road because of all the colors enveloping me.  Every day it is a new display.  Finally a great deal of the leaves are down, but in my front yard as I write this, my red maples are blazing away and there is a gentle little snow storm whirling about them.

Since these paintings take a few days to dry, I will be able to revisit the colors into the coming weeks when the trees are bare and we cruise into the greys and browns of winter.

$150.00

THE LAST ROSE OF SUMMER 2013

THE LAST ROSE OF SUMMER 2013

Nancy Herman

6" x 8"

oil on canvas board

The Last Rose of Summer, forever memorialized by Thomas Moore in his poem of the same name.  At one time considered the Bard of Ireland, Moore wrote many poems that became popular songs in the 19th century.  I have listened to most of the versions of The Last Rose on utube and found Lily Pons version the most pure and lovely.  

An old favorite fabric is included in the painting to embody the spirit of the dead roses.  Where else do flower memories go but into designs for fabric and paintings?

Here is s link to Lily Pons video.

$125.00

Monday morning

The opening of the show at Town Hall Coffee House has come and gone. All the paintings are safely hung and it's time to get back to work.
This fall has been so very beautiful, I want to try to capture it in my next group of paintings.  It is such a popular subject that it is hard to think of a painting without being aware of all the others that have gone before.  Is it ever possible to see with a fresh eye?
Here are some links to fall paintings that are probably going to influence my choice of subject and even the way I paint it.

Monet could create light and sparkle like no other.

Van Gogh used paint as if it were some kind of electrified energy.

                            

Grant Wood kept everything in order and rounded the corners.

                            

Paul Klee with magic at his command was nontheless poetic and funny.

                                

Richard Diebenkorn has dynamic compostions that blow me away.

                            

Edward Hopper  managed to have interesting compostions, startling light and a sense of longing even when there are no people in his work.

                           

Josf Albers  boiled the whole season down to 4 colors and somehow made me care about them.

Charles Demuth's water colors are so fresh and delightful.  He says so much by saying so little.

Opening

Tonight is the night to enjoy a get together at Town Hall Coffee House and see Poetry of the 'Local'.  Bill Ternay and I will be on hand to meet and greet with wine and goodies from 7 to 9 pm.  My new book, Postcards from Merion will be on sale with paintings from the book on the walls.  Bill has some big beautiful work to delight your senses filling the rest of the place.

If you missed it here is your video invitation.

The Poetry of 'Local"