Ten New Paintings!

For the past ten months or so I've been busy working on new paintings for my November show at the Gardiner Library. I've completed ten - a visual representation of my beautiful surroundings. They are a timely reminder of what we can lose if we're not careful.  

I'm offering all of these paintings for sale now, prior to the show, with the understanding that they won't ship until after the show closes on December 30.  I hope you like this collection. To purchase a painting please contact me via the "Contact" page or at natalie@nataliewargin.com. You can also email me for detail images of any of the paintings or for a more detailed price list with a description of each piece.  And you can see my work-in-progress
at instagram.com/nataliewargin/

If you're nearby you can check out the show or come and meet me at the reception.
The show runs from November 14 through December 30. 
Opening reception:
Saturday, November 18 from 12pm until 2pm.
Gardiner Library
133 Farmer's Turnpike
Gardiner, NY  12525
 

"Vultures at High Falls"
24" x 18"
Acrylic on birch panel
$2200.

"Maggie"
18" x 24"
Acrylic on birch panel
$2200.

"Slabsides"
24" x 18" 
Acrylic on birch panel
$2200.

"Lodges"
18" x 24" 
Acrylic on birch panel
$2200.

"Pleasant"
18" x 24"
Acrylic on birch panel
$3200.

"Red Barn with Fox"
12" x 18"
Acrylic gouache on birch panel
$900.

"Coyote"
18" x 12"
Acrylic on birch panel
$900.

"Autumn Orchard"
12" x 16"
Acrylic on birch panel
$1200.

"Winter Barns"
12" x 18"
Acrylic on birch panel
$1200.

Again, If you have questions please email me via the "Contact" page or at natalie@nataliewargin.com.  Thanks for taking a look!

A Riotous Painting + Free SHIPPING

"One Hundred Geese" detail

"One Hundred Geese" detail

"One Hundred Geese" detail

Spring is coming, that's for sure.  I look out my window or ride down a road and flocks of birds are gathering and singing like it's some big happy family reunion.  Dozens of starlings flying in an abstract formation that thins and swells and curves.  Dozens of robins in my yard, hopping and pecking at the grass and filling the yet to bud flame bushes.  Driving down 209 recently I looked over to the fields where Gill's Farm has been growing exceptional corn for decades and I saw hundreds of geese.  Hundreds.  I have never seen so many birds all in one place.  Maybe they were resting or maybe there was something tasty that geese just love left over from last season.  All I know is that it was an impressive sight.  

I've painted a version of what I saw and I admit that I took some license.  The geese I saw were still and if there were other animals I didn't see them. I've moved the creek.  The Esopus is actually a couple hundred yards away.  I haven't seen any turtles yet this year.  And these geese are flying which would probably be a wise decision if there were foxes around.  

This is a watercolor and gouache painting, slightly horizontal, 13" x 12".
You can find the painting and prints of the image in my shop here:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/270709027/original-watercolor-painting-100-geese?ref=shop_home_active_1
https://www.etsy.com/listing/271423948/art-print-original-watercolor-painting?ref=listing-shop-header-0

And get free shipping, today through Sunday March 13, with this code:
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New Painting -- My Neighbors

"Neighbors" detail

"Neighbors" detail

"Neighbors" detail

"Neighbors" detail

I have these neighbors up the road who have a story that you can read just by looking at their property.  The star of the story as I tell it is Chester, the 16 year old rescued Belgian Draft Horse.  Chester is big and blonde and gentle.  A handsome chap.  Belgians are related to Clydesdales so that might give you an idea of Chester's size.  He loves to lay in the mud or stand out in the rain or snow.  I suppose if you had such an enormous body you might like to cool down when you get the opportunity.  Chester has his own barn and a corral that are pretty much right on the road and he attracts attention.  Hence the sign: "Please Don't Feed The Horse.  Ask."  I should say right now that I haven't manufactured anything that you see in the painting.  I loved that brilliant sign the second I saw it.  I took a picture and I'm glad I did because it's weathered and you can't really read it anymore.

The deer hanging from the tree is common during hunting season.  I think the man who lives here is a pretty good hunter because every year there's a deer.  One year there was a bear.  And one year there was a coyote.  Apparently the coyotes were eating the chickens.  Although I've placed the tree in the background the actual "hanging tree" is on the road.  Scared the daylights out of me the first morning I ran past and saw a dead deer hanging next to me.  

The woman who lives here actually has three pigs.  Pot bellied pigs that live in the house.  I have met them and they are sweet and bristley.  Here she is walking the largest.

The painting is an acrylic on birch board, 16" x 12", my largest to date.  
This is also the first time I've added a person.  
And I've given Chester a pink halo just to show how special I think he is.

The piece is available in my shop:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/263160806/original-painting-my-neighbors-with?ref=shop_home_active_1

New Painting -- A view from the Cottekill Trail

I see a lot of deer these days.  It must be the time of year.  I'll be running on the trail and they'll walk out of the woods and stand in my path, looking at me as I get closer and closer to them.  It's a delight to see them though I worry that I can get so close before they leap away.  I know that animals are far from stupid.  Most, I suspect, are much more intelligent than we egotistical humans will allow.  But I don't want the wild animals around here to ever trust people.  Hunting season is around the corner.

I pass this spot on the Cottekill trail.  The trail is bordered by woods and all sorts of small plants.  That funny lattice structure is a puzzlement.  There are houses beyond and the mountains of course.  This is a cool morning with smoke from wood stoves in the air.  You can also spot bunnies, a squirrel, and one deer a-leaping.

This is a 12 x 16" acrylic painting on birch board.  It's titled "Over."
https://www.etsy.com/listing/248611494/original-acrylic-painting-a-view-from?ref=shop_home_active_1

Wild Turkey on Leggett Trail

This is an original acrylic painting of a lone wild tom turkey.  I have placed him in the surroundings where I see him -- woodland with wild roses, chipmunks and a small stream.  The painting is on a 9 x 12" (23 x 30cm) birch panel.  I haven't done an acrylic painting since high school.  This was fun and I will be doing more.

"Wild Turkey" detail

"Wild Turkey" detail

"Wild Turkey" detail

There's a section of the trail here that Maggie & I like to walk.   We access it from Leggett Road.  For the past couple of years we have been most fortunate to spot, from time to time, a  large lone wild turkey.  We saw him again recently.  He was close to the edge of the trail and I guess we startled him. He made a fuss and moved off. I think that he lives in the wild woodland that borders the particular section of the trail where we are likely to see him.  He seems robust and healthy but I wonder why he's always alone.  I try to stop myself from anthropomorphizing but I'm afraid he's lonely or maybe being ostracized. I told my sister, an area native, about this Tom and she said that she thinks turkeys sometimes spend time alone.  It's true that I don't see him very often so maybe he's usually with a flock.  Fabia and I decided that he was in a Garbo phase.  Not tremendously clever, I know, but it made us laugh anyway.

As I mentioned above I haven't worked with acrylics for a while and to me this looks so different from my watercolors.  Often I don't know what to think when I look at a painting I've finished and that was very true of this turkey.  There's something about this piece that reminds me of portraits that itinerant painters would do during colonial times.  Of course this is a turkey and not a well-to-do dry goods proprietor but still.  There's just something about it...

You can find this painting in my shop.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/239253709/original-painting-wild-tom-turkey-on?ref=shop_home_active_1

And you can use this code for free shipping on any order.  It's active through July 18.
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New Work -- Circle Avenue, Kingston NY

"Circle Avenue" detail

"Circle Avenue" detail

I was in the Stockade sitting at the bar having a glass of red. A woman sat down next to me.  We struck up a conversation and when I told her where I lived she said we were practically neighbors.  She said she lived on Circle Avenue, very close. I'd never heard of Circle Avenue. It turns out Circle Avenue is a couple of miles from me, circular, and completely charming.  The houses are close together at odd angles, painted an assortment of colors.  It feels cozy and private.  I think it might be nice to live there.  I saw dogs but the goats are invention.  Or maybe a suggestion.

The painting is 6 x 6 inches (15 x 15 cm), watercolor and gouache on board.
It's available in my Etsy shop.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/216656451/watercolor-painting-original-circle