"Stronger Than You Seem" 20" x 20" original oil painting by artist Nancy Laliberte

"Stronger Than You Seem"

© Nancy Laliberte

20" x 20" oil on gallery-wrapped canvas

Currently available at The Alexander House, Center for Art & History

Port Edwards, WI

click here to view/purchase information

Always remember, you are Stronger Than You Seem.
Don't ever give up.
You are not alone. 

Thank you for being a part of my art journey. 
You are a blessing!
Happy Thanksgiving,
Nancy
__________________

"Friends" keeping me company in the studio:
Music:  Praise Painting - personal itunes playlist
Reading:  I Can See Clearly Now by Dr. Wayne Dyer
__________________
See additional artwork at www.nancylaliberte.com
Connect and follow along with the studio on Facebook
For color and joy on your Instagram feed, follow @nancylaliberteart

"Summer Sisters" original oil painting by artist Nancy Laliberte

Summer Sisters

© Nancy Laliberte

10" x 8" oil on gallery-wrapped canvas

SOLD

In my world:  Zinnias + Hydrangeas = Summer Sisters. Colorful and belonging together enjoying the sunshine, warm breezes, and secrets shared in the garden of life. 

I love how these look together! All are on gallery-wrapped canvas with the painting continuing around the sides, wired and ready for hanging. 

Friday (11/20), my show opens at the Alexander House Center for Art & History. I delivered my paintings this week. I am excited to see them installed with artist Joe Clark's beautiful ceramic pieces. The opening reception is from 5 - 8 pm. I'd love to see you there.

Thankful for:

My 2001 Ford Windstar van (reliable art delivery mobile ;-) )

My very supportive family and friends

You, my dear blog reader 

__________________

"Friends" keeping me company in the studio: 
Music:  Praise Painting - personal itunes playlist

Audiobook:  The Paris Wife by Paula McLain  
Reading:  I Can See Clearly Now by Dr. Wayne Dyer
__________________

See additional artwork at www.nancylaliberte.com
Connect and follow along with the studio on Facebook

For color and joy on your Instagram feed, follow @nancylaliberteart

"Surrounded by Love"

© Nancy Laliberte

10" x 8" oil on gallery-wrapped canvas

sold

This painting is the third in a series of four, and is a part of my upcoming show at the Alexander House in Port Edwards, WI. The exhibit opens this Friday, November 20th, with a reception from 5 - 8 pm. Also featured will be ceramic artist, Joe Clark, from Port Edwards, WI. The show runs through January 5th, 2016.
__________________
"Friends" keeping me company in the studio: 
Music:  "Praise Painting" personal iTunes playlist
Reading:  I Can See Clearly Now by Dr. Wayne Dyer
__________________

See additional artwork at www.nancylaliberte.com
Connect and follow along with the studio on Facebook

For color and joy on your Instagram feed, follow @nancylaliberteart

Work-in-Progress - Day 6 - 30 Paintings in 30 Days with artist Nancy Laliberte

Work-in-Progress...the creative joy continues as I keep plugging away on the big commission. I always love the initial block-in of painting, because it goes very quickly for me. The push and pull of color and temperature (warm and cool colors) is the part where I have to slow down, but not over think it. "Look twice, paint once." 

Thank you for allowing me to share my creative joy with you!
- Nancy

Work in Progress - Day 4 - 30 paintings in 30 days with artist Nancy Laliberte

Day 4 of the 30 paintings in 30 days challenge included working on a landscape commission. This piece is 36" x 24" and requires more than one day of painting time. Several days, actually, and I wanted to give a sneak peek since that was the project for the day. 

Thank you for allowing me to share my creative joy (and life) with you!
- Nancy

Work in Progress - Day 3 - 30 paintings/30 days with artist Nancy Laliberte

Sharing my creative joy with painting demo during downtown Wausau's 1st Thursday was a part of my day 3 of the 30 paintings in 30 days challenge. I know getting out and painting in front of people can be a bit daunting for some artists, but give it a try. Painting from life and in public may not only bring you joy, but also inspire someone else. 

The finished painting will be a part of the Center for the Visual Arts' "Art by the Foot" fundraiser taking place in October. 

When the street lights came on I knew it was time to wrap things up for the day (night!). Thank you to my artist friend, Theda Hewuse, for the photo.

This amazingly talented young woman was sharing her musical gifts just a few feet away from me. 

Thank you for allowing me to share my creative joy with you,
- Nancy

Summer Fun with a "Practice Run"

"Practice Run"

© Nancy Laliberte

6" x 8" oil on panel (plein-air)

Sold

Summer is in full swing and it is fabulous! After the long winter we had, every warm and sunny day sure feels like a gift. In between soaking up some extra Vitamin D and having fun outdoors, if you are in the Wausau area this weekend, be sure to stop in at the Center for the Visual Arts (427 N Fourth St, downtown Wausau) and check out the Transitions Gallery space where I have this painting and other plein air and studio pieces exhibiting through Sunday, July 13. There are a lot of great events happening in Wausau this weekend, so make it a day of summer fun.
______________

See more work at www.nancylaliberte.com
Connect and follow along with the studio on Facebook
Looking for a Creative Time Out? Join me for a class or workshop 

Join me tonight from 5 - 7 pm at the Center for the Visual Arts, Wausau, WI

"The Family Farm"

© Nancy Laliberte

18" x 24" acrylic on canvas

Sold

Remembering life on "The Family Farm"...please join me tonight from 5 - 7 pm at the opening reception of my exhibit of plein air and studio paintings in the Transitions Gallery space at the Center for the Visual Arts in downtown Wausau. Also taking place tonight at the CVA is the opening reception to Craig Blietz's, "Farm to Table" show in the main gallery, and the 7th Congressional Art Competition in the Loft Gallery. All in all, It will be a great opportunity to view and talk art. See you there!
____________________

See more work at www.nancylaliberte.com
Connect and follow along with the studio on Facebook
Looking for a Creative Time Out? Join me for a class or workshop 

"I Hope You Dance" original acrylic painting by Nancy Laliberte

"I Hope You Dance"

© Nancy Laliberte

11" x 14" acrylic on canvas

sold

Visiting a favorite theme of trees and treelines albeit a bit more abstractly. I love the movement and color of this piece. It reminds me of the dawn of a new day, and of good things to come. 

Here's to a "I Hope You Dance" kind of day!

click here to view and purchase

Creative Journaling: Sharing the Love...

"Sweet!" 

© Nancy Laliberte

 ink and watercolor journal page

On Saturday, March 22nd, I had the wonderful opportunity to teach a creative journaling mini-workshop at the Center for the Visual Arts in Wausau, WI. The class was comprised of a very fun and creative group of artists who loved learning and giving their own spin to some of my favorite journaling techniques. Loved it! 

We got our creativity flowing with a couple of writing exercises, moved on to sketching and watercolor techniques, followed by designing our own stencils and learning handy tips and techniques for working our pages in stages, and then put it all together in creating beautiful and unique journal entries during some studio time.  

Here are a few pictures from the class...

 After creating handmade stencils, the fun begins by building up 
layers of shapes, texture and color

Found and hand-made stencils layered with drawing and doodling

Bring on the layers--a journal page with watercolor, acrylics, printing, 

handmade stencils, and purchased stencils 

Tissue paper transforming into painted paper for future collage or journal work

By the end of the day, one of my demo pages had evolved into a journal page. I will add more to it, but so far I am liking the layers and lighter color palette.

I will be teaching this again at a later date in the fall at the Center for the Visual Arts in Wausau. The dates will be announced on my blog and website, and it will be in the CVA newsletter.  

_____________________

See more work at www.nancylaliberte.com
Connect and follow along with the studio on Facebook
Looking for a Creative Time Out? Join me for a class or workshop 

I heART Journaling – Travel Journaling

My family loves to travel, and I love combining traveling with journaling. Sure, I take a lot of photos, too, but there is nothing like taking a little more time and sketching and writing about what you see and feel along the way. You will find you'll remember so much more than what a photo shows. Looking at the sketch of my Caprese salad from a recent trip, I distinctly remember the taste of the creamy mozzarella cheese, the basil, the tanginess of the balsamic vinegar, not to mention how the salad was artfully plated. Vacation memories!

A fun sketch from a trip to Galena, Illinois, last summer. Downtown Galena has several blocks of fun shops. While my husband was golfing, my kids (Erika and Nicholas) and I went "exploring and adventuring" visiting various shops, and enjoying some treats along the way.  

This entry was from several years ago, and I am including it to show another way of recording a trip by using a timeline/calendar approach. It's a quick and simple way to journal and capture some great memories. It lends itself to daily journaling, too.

Journaling on the go - my travel journaling kit. Depending on the activity, I pare it down even more to just a pen, travel watercolor kit, and waterbrush. Here is an entry from a trip last year where I go into more detail about it.

Tomorrow I will be teaching a journaling class from 12 noon - 4 pm at the Center for the Visual Arts in Wausau, WI. While we won't be traveling, I will be sharing the techniques I use when travel journaling. I believe in hands-on learning, so there will also be a number of writing and mixed media exercises including stencil-making, and making your own mini-journal--perfect for traveling! There is room for a few more peeps--we are so lucky they have such a nice, big studio space!--just register with the CVA by stopping in or calling 715-842-4545. 

_____________________

See more work at www.nancylaliberte.com
Connect and follow along with the studio on Facebook
Looking for a Creative Time Out? Join me for a class or workshop 

I heART Journaling - Mixed Media Creativity

© Nancy Laliberte

Mixed media journal page 

I love creative journaling. It is my artist playground/science laboratory/question and curiosity workplace. Some days I work in mixed media, some days watercolor, and some days it's all about drawing, doodling or writing. Today's post features a few of my mixed media journal pages. The mixed media pages are a "grab bag" of mediums and materials, thoughts and images, often with many layers, and worked on for only 10-15 minutes at a time. The page featured above includes free writing, layers of left over paint, some stencil testing and printing, doodling, more writing and collage. 

Free writing followed by layers of paint and some stenciling

 a plethora of text ephemera

my son's homework turned into collage paper for mixed media work

if your sketchbook doesn't come with a pocket, make one! A fast and easy technique  

is to tear a page in half and tape it along the bottom and side to the next page. 

pockets are a great place for stashing bits and pieces of ephemera and other goodies

I hope these pages inspire you to give creative journaling a try. Just grab a notebook or sketchbook, a pen or crayon, and put down a line or shape, or write a word, and let yourself have fun. Remember, everything you do is right! 

If you want to learn more, I will be teaching a mini-workshop, MORE Creative Journaling for Busy People, this Saturday, March 22, 12 noon - 4 pm, at the Center for the Visual Arts in Wausau, WI. There will be lots of hands-on painting, drawing and writing exercises. Plus, learn how to make your own stencils, mini journal, and tips on working on your journal pages in stages for just a few minutes each day. Register with the CVA by stopping in or calling 715-842-4545.

_____________________

See more work at www.nancylaliberte.com
Connect with the studio on Facebook
Looking for a Creative Time Out? Join me for a class or workshop 

The Sketchbook Project, Part III by artist Nancy Laliberte

Continuing on with the Sketchbook Project...

To bring you up to speed:  in November 2013, I signed up to be a part of the Sketchbook Project, which is a traveling library of artists' sketchbooks. My book will be traveling in the central US this summer with stops in Chicago, Madison, and Minneapolis. I will keep you posted on dates via this blog and the studio Facebook page. You can read about the previous two posts here and here.

 I pre-painted this page with gouache and added the washi tape right away when my sketchbook arrived. I often do that for a fun challenge to make a go of whatever is on the page when I get to it in the book. It's a great exercise in creative intuition, and not over-thinking about what you are doing. Just go with the flow. When I came to this page in the book, fish was the first thing that came to mind. I grabbed my Pentel pocket brush pen and white gel pen and dove in! ; )  

We have a pet goldfish named Maroon, and it is my 10 y-o son's job to feed it. He's quite good about doing so, but every so often you will hear someone ask, "Did you feed fishy today?"

This page was painted while I was vacationing in Florida earlier this year. Do you see the coastal, beach walk, flowers blooming instead of snowflakes falling influence? The left page was pre-painted with metallic copper paint. Other materials used were gel pens, permanent black pen, and acrylic paint.

From beaches to blizzards! Responding to my environment:  11 inches of snow fell on this day. It was beautiful watching the white stuff fall, but then came the reality of shoveling and snow blowing. Evidently, all that snow made my brain weary as I didn't get a final image of the completed page. Metallic silver paint, snowflake stamps and information on the weather was added after this photo was taken.

A bright and colorful page after the snowstorm. I love practicing painting ideas in my sketchbooks. There is no "preciousness" to it, just pure fun. To balance out the page (and to practice lettering), I added a favorite quote. Some washi tape and a bit of collaged paper was also used on this page.
   

This page features collaged paper with an acrylic painted purple coneflower (echinacea). Birds and butterflies love these flowers as much as I do, so I have them planted in various gardens in my yard. 

Ignoring the cold winter and thinking of summer poppies, that is the way I roll. This page was painted with acrylic paint. Since the paint was a bit thick in some areas, I applied a matte medium over it as an extra precaution to make sure the pages wouldn't stick--which can sometimes happen with acrylic paint. I included a modified page edge and butterfly from my ephemera collection.

The last page:  bright, cheery colors, the butterfly and a bit of inspiration...

The back cover:  Collaged paper, gold metallic paint (sparkle and shine, my friend) and trimmed with washi tape for durability.

I hope you have enjoyed reading about this project as much as I enjoyed doing it. I did not give myself any rules or theme, except to fill it up and have fun doing so, and send it back by the required date. I hope you are inspired to grab a notebook, sketchbook, or even a pad of scratch paper, some fun pens, watercolors, crayons, whatever, and play around with images, doodles, words, anything. Just start by making a mark, a swirl, or even a stick figure, and then go from there. Most of all, have fun and enjoy the journey...  

Nancy
____________________________

See more work at www.nancylaliberte.com
Connect with the studio on Facebook
Looking for a Creative Time Out? Join me for a class or workshop 

The Sketchbook Project with artist Nancy Laliberte

A couple of months ago I signed up to be a part of The Sketchbook Project. For those not familiar with it, it is a traveling exhibition of handmade books. Anyone from around the world can participate--you don't even have to be an artist. This summer my book will be hitting the road on the midwest mobile library tour which will include stops in Chicago, IL; Madison, WI; and Minneapolis, MN. I will keep you posted on the dates as it gets closer to the tour. I can't wait to see the incredible books participants have created! 

It has been a fun project as I LOVE creative journaling. In this post I am featuring several pages from my book which is now at the Brooklyn Art Library. (They just emailed me today. Thank you USPS.) More pages will be featured over the next couple of posts including some step-by-step processes of a couple of pages. Some pages were created as spreads and some stand alone. All are a direct, intuitive, and creative response to what was going on in my life--inside and out--at that moment in time. 

Viewing...from the Heart

© Nancy Laliberte

We'll start in "reader's spreads" at the beginning, but this was not the first set of pages I created. I left the inside cover and first page blank until I had something I wanted to say that would set the tone for the rest of the book. In the end, the inside cover page was set up for practicality purposes--handling of the book, and securing the cover art. 

These two pages were done on different days, before starting my regular studio painting practice. Typically, I dig through my mixed media materials and pull out ephemera and paint colors that "speak" to me at that moment. One thing leads to another and a page is completed. 
  

This spread incorporates many layers and materials. The first which included using leftover paint from another project, then stenciling, adding bits of hand-painted collage paper, more paint, ink, and ephemera. Sometimes the text may be a phrase or song stuck in my head, other times the text comes later as the imagery falls into place. All intuitively driven. 

When I first started working in my sketchbook, I randomly opened pages and added whatever paint was left on my palette or painted on a color that I don't typically use--a good way to experiment with color in a fun, carefree way. This page is an example of that. I had also just treated myself to a new checkerboard stencil and used that as a starting point, and then added the chevron washi tape for no other reason than, "hey, a roll of washi tape I haven't used yet..." A few days later I came back to this page and began drawing with my favorite pentel pocket brush pen, added some paint, a stamp, a bit of text, and my daily journaling fix is satisfied. 
  

Loving the pocket brush pen! It makes beautiful calligraphic marks depending on now fast and how much pressure you apply. I was watching a Green Bay Packer game (they won!) during this page, hence the green and gold color inspiration. Other materials used were watercolors and inktense pencils. All fun stuff! More pages to come in my next post...

Curious to give this a try, but don't know where to start?

Don't be shy, come join the sketchbook movement! I will be teaching a mini-workshop, "Creative Journaling for Busy People" at the Center for Visual Arts in Wausau, WI. Two dates are being offered (same workshop, feel free to repeat). The first is this Thursday, January 23, from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm, and the second one is Saturday, February 1, from 12 noon to 4:00 pm. Cost is $50 + $8 material fee. Just bring a 9 x 12 sketchbook preferably with 90 lb. paper or more, all of your other materials are included making it super easy for you to show up and have fun! Register with the CVA at 815-842-4545. More information is on their website and mine. See you there!

Give yourself a "Creative Time Out"

"The Light of the World"

© Nancy Laliberte

private collection

"Starry Night"

by Vincent Van Gogh

Playing with Paint

Saturday, December 14

10 - 12:30 pm

Hobby Lobby classroom, 3525 Rib Mountain Dr., Rib Mountain

$35, click here to register

Give yourself a Creative Time Out this Saturday, December 14, and join me for "Playing with Paint" from 10 am - 12:30 pm. Our "playground" will be the Hobby Lobby classroom located at the back of the store, 3525 Rib Mountain Dr. Cost is $35 and includes painting supplies to use during the session. All you need is an 11 x 14 canvas (which you can purchase in the store, or bring one of your own), and the willingness to have some fun. Wear some painting clothes, too, in case you tend to be a bit messy (like me). 

We will be using Van Gogh's Starry Night painting as inspiration to create our own starry, winter scene. I will lead you along in a fun, no-fear, let's just play with the paint and see what happens approach. In the end, you will have an amazing painting and the satisfaction of knowing that you did it! 

As my way of saying Thank You for a great year of Playing with Paint, there will be complimentary apple cider from DanCin' Hills Farm of Hamburg, and frosted, cut-out cookies made from my late Granny O'Gara's recipe. YUM!!! 

Check out the Playing with Paint albums on the studio FB page. Hitting the "Like" button while you are there would be awesome, too. Thanks!

Look for more Playing with Paint fun in 2014 when the new series kicks off on Saturday, February 8th. It's going to great!

Playing with Paint, December 14, 10 am - 12:30 pm

register here