Little Watercolors. Springtime!

April 29, 2025 Natalie Wargin

I like watercolors and I haven’t done any for quite a while so here are two little paintings. One dark, one bright. I don’t grow poppies because my garden is very shaded and poppies need sun, as you probably know. They are interesting and showy and I’ve paired them with the least showy birds. Sparrows. I’ve heard disparaging remarks about sparrows so I always try to take their side. They are tough little birds that stick around all year and if you live in a northern climate like I do that’s saying something. The wild roses and honeysuckle in the second painting are flowers that I do grow. The little brown wood frog was a recent discovery. I’d never seen one before this year. A bit like the sparrows he is simply brown and unassuming. I liked this fellow immediately.

“Sparrows and Poppies”
Watercolor on Fabriano Hot Press Paper
6 x 6 inches
$275

”Wood Frog”
Watercolor on Fabriano Hot Press Paper
6 x 6 inches
$275

These paintings are available in my shop where I’m running a sale.
20% off any purchase from today through May 2.
You can find them here:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/4296893568/original-watercolor-painting-sparrows?ref=shop_home_active_2&logging_key=29a50e8cc240af728eee5fd889414710beb378e5%3A4296893568

Thanks for taking the time to take a look!

New work. More Wild Turkeys.

February 14, 2025 Natalie Wargin

A few months ago in autumn Tilly and I had the pleasure of watching the wild turkeys dance. Nearly every evening for a time they flew over the fence into the yard, walked and pecked and fooled around, then flew up into the trees and out of the yard. It was a show we looked forward to and we’d race from window to window to see all of the action as the birds circled the house.

I wish I knew more about what makes wild things do the things they do. It didn’t seem as though the birds were settling some dispute, no feathers flew. They flapped and surged upward then came back to earth, all in a fairly tight group. Happy hour? If you’ve seen wild turkeys you know that they’re not small birds. They are impressive. This evening’s display was a pleasure to behold even if we hadn’t a clue about what was really happening.

Here they are cavorting in the side yard. Wild roses, lilac, cyclamen, hydrangeas all around. Looks like the grass needs cutting. The swamp is busy too with all the little turtles. Other birds watch as the sky turns to evening with moon and stars. There’s a bluebird sleeping above the porch and a nest over the garage door. Babies soon. A small frog plays it safe. You can see Tilly in the window. My mother’s quilt is on the wall behind her.

“Wild Turkeys”
Acrylic on claybord
18 x 24 inches
If you’re interested in this painting please contact me.

I will be running a special sale on all greeting cards and note cards in my shop.
30% off all cards and notes.
Sale runs from today through Sunday.
After Sunday I will no longer be selling any cards.
https://www.etsy.com/shop/NatalieWargin

Thanks for reading along!

Midnight. A New Painting.

July 18, 2024 Natalie Wargin

This painting was a challenge. It was a commission, a continuation of a story I began in an earlier piece about the tomato plant that fairly took over my front yard. Maybe you remember it with the lovely girl in her front garden picking a basket full of ripe tomatoes. The assignment here was to place our tomato girl in her garden again but this time at night. I don’t have a lot of experience painting night scenes. This is where I landed.

It’s a mild full moon night, the lady of the house sits on the bench in her side yard holding her squirming cat. There’s no doubt about her green thumb. The wild tomato plant in the front yard was no fluke. In fact you can see it at the edges of the scene trying to find a place here too. The air is perfumed with roses, peonies, dogwoods, tulips, trout lilies, daffodils, and those little seedy things. There’s scarcely room for anything else, the gardening style here being one of wild abandon. The little stream adds soft background music while birds and animals rest. The house is welcoming, warm light from the open window.

This is only the third commission I’ve taken. The first one was a success all around, the second was a nightmare which made me hesitant to take this “Midnight” assignment. But the patron was happy to review a sketch and then let me run with it. I was grateful for that and we are both pleased with the result.

“Midnight”
24 x 18 inches
Acrylic on claybord

Prints of this image are available in my Etsy shop here:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1732756934/midnight-garden-art-print-of-original?click_key=88a21fe8b96e6e20b8bd45200102a90f8b7ee42c%3A1732756934&click_sum=70cc18d9&ref=shop_home_active_1

Thanks, as always, for taking a look!

New work! Portrait 4 - Barred Owl

May 9, 2024 Natalie Wargin

One morning, a while back, I was walking peacefully on the trail with Maggie, my faithful companion at that time. There were wild roses and a barn and a tree with a swing. We were minding our own business, looking and sniffing, when a barred owl dove down right smack in front of us, inches away, grabbed a chipmunk, and darted off. We stopped short, shocked and dumbfounded to say the least. Did we really see that? Maggie looked at me, I looked at her and nervously shook my head. Even the wild turkey was upset. What can you say? What can you do? We continued on our way but it was a different kind of walk after that.

Since then I have seen a number of things like this, one animal preying on another. This is the way of it and while I don’t enjoy seeing it I have to accept it. I also know that it’s not my business to interfere.

Here is a small depiction of that event. Perhaps you remember that I painted this story several years ago in a much larger piece. I’ll never forget it. I wish you’d seen it too.

“Portrait 4 - Barred Owl”
6 x 6 inches
Acrylic on claybord
Framed and wired
$400

I’m offering free domestic shipping on any order from May 9 through May 12.

This painting is available in my shop here:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1712634544/original-acrylic-painting-barred-owl?click_key=882a9f8517b80ecc53dd4fe47815dcc479bf4a45%3A1712634544&click_sum=0b5f0c79&ref=shop_home_active_1

Prints of this image are available here:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1726807481/art-print-portrait-barred-owl-chipmunk?click_key=afe08e645f7ee8dcd69be29fae7e9f1da6c6583f%3A1726807481&click_sum=09050b09&ref=shop_home_active_2

Thank you for reading along!

A Small Portrait and a Holiday Wish

December 27, 2023 Natalie Wargin

I wanted to paint but Christmas was consuming most of my time and energy. I thought I could squeeze in a small piece while dealing with all of the holiday fun and obligations and this is what I managed. It’s a little painting but I like the size and think it will be the first of a series of portraits. Here is a wild turkey in the woods. She’s just taken flight, moving from the dim woodland into a brighter spot where the birches and wild flowers grow and where a small frog lives. Have you ever seen a wild turkey take off flying? They are so ungainly it seems they will never get off the ground. But they do.

“Portrait #1 - Wild Turkey”
6 x 6 inches
Acrylic on claybord
This piece will be part of the Active Members Small Works Show at the Woodstock Museum.

I hope your holidays have been fun so far and I send you the warmest wishes for a Happy New Year! Thank you for your interest in my work. It means so much.

My Wild Dog - New Work

May 19, 2023 Natalie Wargin

I have featured black dogs in my paintings before. Sometimes I showed my own dog, sometimes the dog was a stranger to me. But this wild black dog is mine all mine. This is Tilly, doing one of her favorite things: tearing flat out through my garden in pursuit of an unfortunate squirrel.

I have asked myself if I would have taken this dog home from the shelter had I known about her tremendous prey drive. It certainly was a shock to me the first time I watched her catch and kill a squirrel. And another squirrel. And then the poor ground hog. I’d never seen behavior like this other than on nature shows and that was when I would turn the program off. But we fall in love, don’t we, and we come to accept even the parts we dislike.

So here she is, single minded, ignoring the bunny and the turtles, careless of the things beneath her feet. My wild roses and spider wort trampled, the lilac blooms scattered, the ferns bent and broken. Bad news about the squirrel.

“Dog”
Acrylic on claybord
18 x 24 inches

Big sale in my shop!
Prints of this painting are available in my here:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1484937881/black-dog-chasing-squirrel-through?click_key=0b78c99c726c05e9de87c013b0f95fbfde31a5c6%3A1484937881&click_sum=44ae15b0&ref=shop_home_active_1&sts=1

Thanks for taking a look! I truly appreciate it.

One Box Turtle, Coming Right Up

June 23, 2022 Natalie Wargin

This painting was a commission, a birthday gift for a man who has a soft spot for turtles. I saw this particular box turtle in my driveway and thought I'd paint her instead of one of the snappers that I usually see. Box turtles are especially beautiful and a little showy with bright orange markings. Unlike other wild creatures that I encounter turtles don't mind inspection or a nosey photographer getting close. That's my little house in the upper corner and the woods beyond. It's windy and the trees are getting tossed. And because they are blooming now I've added wild roses and hydrangeas. If you look very carefully you can see that the spiders have been busy too.

I’ve reopened my Etsy shop with a 20% off sale on any purchase through Sunday the 26th.
You can find prints of this turtle painting here:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1239661358/art-print-of-original-acrylic-painting?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=natalie+wargin&ref=sr_gallery-1-3

NOTE: For those of you who follow me on Instagram I have a new account.
You can follow me here to see me working on new things:
@nataliewargin2.0

And as always, thank you for taking a look at my work.

Porcupines At Mohonk - New Work

February 24, 2022 Natalie Wargin

This is a retelling of a story from a few years ago when I went for a hike at the Mohonk Preserve with my friends Mary Grace and Raedel. If you’re unfamiliar with the Mohonk Mountain House and the Preserve it’s worth checking out. The hotel alone is fairly mind blowing. I digress. It was a perfect spring morning — flowers blooming, bees buzzing, birds and little frogs too, the roof tops of the hotel visible in the distance. We chose an easy trail, a good walk and conversation being our intent. We were talking and laughing and we rounded a bend and Mary Grace almost stepped on a porcupine.

I’d never seen a porcupine outside of a zoo and it was all I could do to get my phone out of my pocket and start taking photos. I got several decent shots. The porcupine didn’t seem especially concerned about me nor did she seem at all put out about almost being stepped on. You see her here, ambling along the path, and once she reached an overgrown spot she stopped to grab and eat a bunch of leaves. She was gorgeous. I did wonder about those quills. Do they shoot them in self defense? Later I looked it up and learned that they do not. Instead they charge and impale a predator with multiple barbs.

I mentioned that this is a retelling. A while back I did a small watercolor based on this story. Here is a larger representation in acrylics, with more details of the porcupine and the day. This is the ninth piece for my show at the Woodstock Museum in May.

“Porcupines At Mohonk”
Acrylic on Clayboard
24 x 18 inches

I’m having a sale in my Etsy shop running from today through the 28th.
20% off on any print, any size.
Prints of this image are available in my shop here:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1182549973/art-print-of-original-acrylic-painting?click_key=e5175985330b1f06b173ee16d2f1970725b24287%3A1182549973&click_sum=bfa80afd&ref=shop_home_active_1&sts=1

Thank you for following my work and reading my tales.

A little story about my grandmother

March 30, 2021 Natalie Wargin

This painting tells a little story about my grandmother, Emily Koscielski. Emily was a creative person who was a good cook, an excellent baker, a skilled embroiderer, a successful gardener. She loved flowers and birds, but especially flowers. She told me stories about gardens in Poland where there were only flowers, not a single blade of grass. Emily had a long narrow workroom in her basement where she made things like crepe paper flowers. You can see her at work here, looking serious and determined, busy adding to a wild paper garden of her own creation. There are ferns, lily-of-the-valley, wild roses, white tulips, frilly poppies and poppy seed heads, daffodils. I've given her room a cathedral door and centered her beneath sun and rain, night time and lightening to add emphasis to her conjuring powers.

As with the Peony drawing you saw last month I should credit the virus with the idea of this painting and the urge to make it. Like many of you I’ve been conversing quite a bit over the past months with family, including a cousin who has shared many of his family memories. I had fun correcting his misremembered stories but he did get me thinking a lot about my grandmother which has resulted in this painting.

“Emily’s Dream #2”
Acrylic on board
24 x 18 inches

You can find prints of this image in my shop here:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/974871306/art-print-original-acrylic-painting?ref=shop_home_active_1
Also, I’m running a little sale, 15% off any item.

There are some detail images below. Thank you for reading along!

The Storm and A Show!

July 20, 2018 Natalie Wargin

A funny thing happened when I started this painting. The sky took over. I had every intention of showing a garden on a sunny blue sky day but, as you can see, that's not what happened. I've never before had the feeling that I wasn't completely in control of a piece. When my brush began making those dark churning clouds it crossed my mind that I could make the sky brighter and clearer but something kept me from doing it. In the end I was glad that I let the painting have its way.

So a storm is definitely coming. Trees are blowing sideways, blossomed branches are tossed, a curtain flies from a window, a bell on a gate rings and rings. Milkweed, ferns, wild roses, and spider wort are tangled. The stream is rushing into the pond and the ducks are having second thoughts about their swim. The deer are heading for shelter, a turtle seems to have found some. And if I know that dog she's about to be frightened when the thunder starts. The stone house looks safe and welcoming. I think someone's about to get dinner going.

"The Storm," acrylic on panel, 24" x 18". This painting has sold.

I have some news too. I have had three paintings accepted into a juried show at the Woodstock Artists Museum. The show is titled FOCUS: Surveying the Landscape. I'm very happy about this. It's the first juried show for me and my paintings. The show runs from July 21 through August 26. I'll be at the opening reception on Saturday, July 28 from 4 to 6pm. I'd love to see you if you happen to be in the area.

I have several new prints in my Etsy shop.
Everything is 20% off starting today, July 20, and running through Monday, July 23.
https://www.etsy.com/shop/NatalieWargin

Wild Turkey on Leggett Trail

July 9, 2015 Natalie Wargin

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.

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.
FREESHIP

No more weed paintings for a while

September 23, 2014 Natalie Wargin

I'm pretty sure there are weeds like these everywhere -- weeds that resemble wheat. They don't look like anything special until they bloom and go to seed. Then there's a wild explosion of tangled tendrils and yellow seeds that look like a party skirt. As for the chipmunk, he lives under my screen porch. I see him everyday filling his cheeks and keeping an eye on me for any sudden movements. I sit at my table painting or drawing and watch him through the patio doors as he stands up really tall, looking for who knows what. Sometimes he just sits and admires the trees. So smart.

This is the last of my "Weeds" series for now. I've been working on a calendar that will feature weed paintings and , ta da!, I've got twelve.

This painting is available in my Etsy shop.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/204003488/watercolor-painting-original-chipmunk

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