Thursday, May 28, 2009

Bouquet in Blue II

"Bouquet in Blue II"
© 2009 Nancy Laliberte
8" x 6" Acrylic on panel
$120
Another variation to the blue theme and playing with color and values. I often work small because of time constraints. At least this way I can still complete a painting even if it is just a little one. Besides, good things come in small packages and small paintings are no exception. :-)

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Bouquet in Blue

"Bouquet in Blue"
© 2009 Nancy Laliberte
8" x 6" acrylic on panel
$120 plus shipping
Reviewing what I have posted so far, it is apparent how much I love painting flowers. These floral paintings are a great opportunity to play with color and composition. I think this one has some nice value contrasts and luminous passages. And I loved smooshing the paint around! Even the sides are painted so the panel can be displayed on a small easel instead of framed. All of my pieces have a satin UV varnish, as well.

Monday, May 25, 2009

Bouquet in Red

"Bouquet in Red"
© 2009 Nancy Laliberte
8" x 6" acrylic on panel
$120
A little painting done to work on color relationships, lights and darks and all those other things we need to remember while painting. I have taken a couple of Bob Burridge workshops and enjoy using his "Goof-Proof Color Wheel." Spin the wheel, pick your color combinations and paint away! Check out his workshop schedule and sign up for one or two or three...five days with Bob and you will never be the same!

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Pansies from Heaven

"Pansies from Heaven"
© 2009 Nancy Laliberte
10" x 8" acrylic on archival matboard
SOLD

My Granny O'Gara always planted pansies in her garden. In her memory I always make sure I plant a pot or two in my own garden. I started this piece last fall from life and then recently finished it up in the studio using a photo reference. It starting looking a little too "tight" so I took a big brush and went back in to simplify the shapes and give it the painterly look I was going for in the first place.

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Amaryllis & Exhibitour


"Amaryllis"
© 2009 Nancy Laliberte
6" x 6" acrylic on panel
$45 plus shipping
I love these flowers and find it fascinating watching them grow and blossom. It's kind of like watching your children grow and bloom into a special person who brings great joy to your life.

My friend Val Berkely (she is the tall one!) and I named our Exhibitour event, "Double Blooms" and had a painting demo going for added interest. We set up my plein air easel and started with a simple sketch and a reference. As we painted we explained the "method to our madness" and how we work in layers and often start out with colors opposite to what the final layer will show. We used finished paintings to further exemplify. While Val and I have different styles, we both love COLOR. Watch for the finished painting in a later post.

The Three Muskateeers! Chris Mosse, Val and I will be having a three-person show next spring at the Center for Visual Arts in Wausau. "Where We Live" will feature paintings by Valerie and myself, and hand-painted furniture and other 3-D pieces by Chris. It is going to be a terrific show with lots of color and more...

Exhibitour has not only great art but also yummy treats. My little Nicholas, 5, came to support us and have some cheese and crackers, too. Nicholas is a budding artist and contraption-maker who loves painting, Playdoh, race cars and trains.

Art fans Debbie and Rick Clements stopped by to enjoy the art, conversation and wine. Thanks Debbie and Rick! Also a big THANK YOU goes to Amber and staff at Associated Bank for sponsoring us, and everyone else who stopped by to say "Hi" and check out our work.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Wausau Spring Exhibitour

"Plein Air Heliopsis"
© 2009 Nancy Laliberte
8" x 10" acrylic on panel
$150
These flowers grow in one of my mother's gardens and my challenge was to create a variety of greens, capture the "spirit" of the flowers, and simply work en plein air. It is part of a plein air flower series I have going. This painting will also be featured in Wausau's Spring Exhibitour Gallery Walk tomorrow night from 6-8 pm. My artist friend Val Berkely and I will be at Associated Bank (corner of Scott & 4th St). The theme of our show is "Double Blooms" and will feature all florals. Here in north central Wisconsin, winter is very, very long. We thought lots of bright floral paintings would be just the ticket to welcome spring! If you are in the Wausau area--please stop by and take in Exhibitour. It is a huge social event that always draws a large crowd, and you just may find that perfect flower painting to go above the sofa ; )

Monday, May 11, 2009

Blooming

"Blooming"
5" x 7" acrylic on paper
© 2009 Nancy Laliberte
archival mat 11" x 14", unframed
$85 plus shipping
My crocus' are done blooming and some of my tulips are starting to open. It is taking a lot of Liquid Fence to keep the rabbits and deer from munching my painting subjects. This piece actually started out by making a mess, that is I cleaned off my palette by getting the paint pretty wet and using a wet Viva paper towel to make splotches and blobs of many colors. I did this to several pieces of gessoed watercolor paper. Once the paint was dry, I started looking for abstract shapes within the positive and negative spaces. Soon "Blooming" came to life.

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Misty Day Bouquet

Misty Day Bouquet
8" x 6" acrylic on panel
© 2009 Nancy Laliberte
SOLD

A colorful bouquet for Mother's Day. Happy Mother's Day and just in case you didn't get flowers today, you can enjoy these. My 17-year-old son gave me a huge bouquet of beautiful roses--I will be painting those this week!