NCA Crandall Library Award

North Country Arts annual juried show is now on display at the beautiful Second Floor Gallery at the Crandall Public Library at 251 Glen Street, Glens Falls, NY.  The show runs from December 1-29 with hours of M-Th 9-9; Fri 9-6; Sat 9-5 and Sun 1-5.

I was very honored to receive one of 5 Juror's Choice awards for my piece - "Silk Road Stroll". This was a very challenging group to capture and I ran through many batteries on my electric eraser.  Hope you enjoy a peek at my finished drawing.

Arkell!

I am pleased to have "Tea for Two" on display in the annual Arkell Museum/Canajoharie Library 2015 Juried Art Show.  This show runs from December 4th through January 24th with hours of Tues-Fri, 10-5 and Sat/Sun, noon to 5.  Current Museum Gallery exhibits are "Picturing Winter" (selections from permanent collection) and "William Joyce - Guardian of Childhood".  Both are WORTH the trip!  Check the link for additional information on this amazing upstate art treasure.  http://www.arkellmuseum.org/  Here is my entry piece which captures a timeless moment between friends.

Hagaman Fall Show!

Every year, I look forward to a nice little show in Hagaman, NY.  Almost always beautiful, crisp fall weather, 60 fellow artists and LOTS of visitors.  Here are some pieces from my two panels of work in colored pencil and pastel and a couple of candids of the displays.  "Playin' Hookey" is a whimsy piece - one little egg pupil hiding out under the bridge.  "Silk Road Stroll" highlights some prized pieces from different parts of the "Orient".  "Birds of a Feather" - still exploring egg ideas and "High Noon" - the famous statue pair from Congress Park in Saratoga.

A Little About Me

I received an email from Patience Brewster (check out her website of lovely and unique Christmas ornaments ) inviting me to create a blog post answering some questions about myself as an artist.  Hope you enjoy my answers and check out Patience’ website!

Q 1. As a child, do you recall a significant moment when you felt truly affected or inspired by any particular artwork or artist?
               A.  I grew up small town, 1950’s rural with no particular big exposure to art or artists.  I enjoyed advertising art in magazines and book illustrations, but in school we always just drew from our imaginations with subjects selected by the art teachers.  My strongest art motivation was the feelings I experienced about things I admired or enjoyed.  I was a horse lover and so, much time was spent drawing them from magazine pictures or books – a way to express the joy I felt at their beauty.  My motivation was always to increase my skill at “saying” what I felt about horses and other things that touched me.
2. As an artist, what do you hope to convey with your work?
               A. I still have that same motivation in my adult artwork – sharing the joy that I feel at happening upon certain meaningful things.  I want to turn a spotlight on what is often missed in the business of life and small groupings or items that suggest or recall a story.  I have morphed into doing many still life subjects because of my own intense connections to the comfortable, common things that reflect the past lives of ordinary people – things that are tattered and worn and have been “used” by people in other times and places.  My house is filled with old things in little groupings and I am constantly delighted by the play of light over these treasured items as the day passes to night.  I still love to draw horses, but my love of old “things” has grown to be predominant.  I like to inject a bit of whimsy in my works and to produce art that is complex enough to stay fresh and interesting no matter how many times it is viewed.
3. What memorable responses have you had to your work?
                A.            I have often been told that my art was mistaken for a photo when seen from a distance.  That is somewhat surprising because I don’t think it is photorealistic, as such.  I like to think that it is a compliment to the effort I put in my drawing.  I do not want errors of perspective or sloppy drawing to take away from what I am saying and so I expect my best effort to avoid such distraction.  I start from my own photo and spend a lot of time on the technical correctness of objects and placement, but once I have transferred my basic, finished drawing, I work in a fairly intuitive manner and make changes and alterations from my initial photo as my feelings dictate.
4. What is your dream project?
                A.            Right now, I think it would be exciting to interpret the same finished core drawing in colored pencil, pastel and maybe oil paint.  I have a certain motivating feeling for the subject matter and I would like to see if I could convey my same “message” effectively in multiple ways.        
5. What artists, of any medium, do you admire? (Famous or not!)
                A.            I love the artists of the Golden Age of Illustration – NC Wyeth (and family), Howard Pyle, Norman Rockwell, Alphonse Mucha, Maxfield Parrish, Gibson, Christy, etc.  I also like Alma Tadema and Gerome and Sargent, among many others.  It is a crime that they mainly forgotten.  They were wonderfully skilled artists who were masters of draftsmanship, color and composition and prolific in the production of stunning art. 

 

Rare eARTh Gallery Invitational Show!

NorthCountryARTS is collaborating with Rare eARTh Gallery and Events at 176 Glen Street in downtown Glens Falls and I am proud to be one of the 10 artists invited to participate.  Each artist selected was given a 10' section of wall space.  I have 16 pieces on display in my area.

The Gallery is open Wednesday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Artwork represented by the Rare eARTh Gallery and Events is also exhibited.  I will be at the gallery in person on Sunday, September 20 from 12 noon to 6 pm.  A beautiful show and worth the trip.

Cooperstown Art Association 2015

Running a bit behind on my blog, but I really can't fail to mention being included in the two Cooperstown Art Association shows this year.   These exhibitions are held in the very elegant Cooperstown Library Galleries, located at 22 Main Street, Cooperstown, NY 13326 and it is a big honor to make the cut both times.

The Regional Show - "Essential Arts" accepted my larger piece "Bones in the Woods".  I have always been captivated by the pathos of decaying vintage equipment and always take lots of reference photos when I happen on a good old piece of equipment "dying in harness". 

 

My entry for the National Show was called "Tutti Frutti" and is a fun piece I did showing off my odd Italian vase with 3-D fruit, some of my old teapots and some shiny, new fruit from the store.  Lots of colorful reflections on my old white stove and interesting and challenging to draw all that detail..

 



March at the Shirt Factory Small Works Show!

Two of my pieces were accepted for the Third Annual Exhibition of Small Works at the Shirt Factory Gallery in Glens Falls, New York.  The show runs from March 6 through April 4th and is located in the large "factory" building on Cooper Street, a unique complex of shops, studios and something for everyone.  http://shirtfactorygf.com/directory  The Small Works Show is displayed at Studio 120, with gallery hours of 12 noon - 5:00 pm, Tuesday through Friday.

I have two pieces on display, "Quicksilver" and "Tea for Two".  "Tea for Two" was awarded the Tom Myott Gallery Award at the Small Works opening!  I was proud to be included in this beautiful show.

My new book - "Portals"

My mini-book, "Portals", is now available!  Thank yous to my graphic artist/oil painter buddy, Janet Marie Yeates (http://janetmarieyeates.com)!  Here are some candids of the cover and a few pages.  I have copies for sale at the LARAC show (see below for my post on my current exhibition!), as well as my own home gallery - Micropolis Cooperative, Inc. Check it out if you are nearby or contact me at ljnaske@frontier.com to connect for a copy.

Still Observations - LARAC 2015

I am currently part of a 3-person still life show at the Lower Adirondack Regional Art Council (LARAC). This lovely fine arts gallery is located at 7 Lapham Place, Glens Falls, NY 12801. The show is focused on three artists' vision of the still life genre and my fellow participants are Jeri MacDonald and Kate Hartley.  The show runs through February 13 and the hours for the gallery are Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10 am to 3 pm.  In addition to the current show, there is a gift shop with unique items from a variety of amazing artists.  I am happy to say that a selection of my blank greeting cards, as well as my new sampler book, "Portals", which contains 20 of my drawings, are all for sale in the gift shop.  Here is a link so you can explore this exceptional gallery and its activities.  http://www.larac.org/ Here are some candids for a flavor of the opening.  Photos of pieces are not pro quality.  My talented photographer guy: Harry Wirtz, http://harrywirtz.com, was down with the flu and so fresh start for everyone in February. 

The marbles drawing is called "Dance of the Planets" for the little solar system my swirly, silver coaster made with these crystal marbles.  The rooster picture is called "Playin' Hookey" - "all in their places with bright, shiny faces"; all except one.  "Tutti-Frutti" is my title for the stove piece - a collision of colorful reflections and shapes on my vintage stove.  I named the last one "Moonlight Swim".  A lone paper swan swimming in a pool of moonlight.