NowhereHere.com » Ta Da!

Beckoning Spring

Nancy Tobin — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 17:47:08 +0000

Surface - S: One of an edition of 26, each one-of-a-kind

I was so pleased with the results and the reception of the limited edition piece I did to celebrate the new year: Peace Walk, that I decided to create a new edition to celebrate the coming of spring.

This time, instead of creating multiples of the same image, I created 26, similar, but different works.

Introducing Surface!

Each work begins with an archival inkjet print that is laminated to a panel. Several layers of acrylic medium are added to enhance the surface. Next, each piece is embellished with little pieces that have been hand cut from the original print. Every print is then silk-screened two times, each separated by several layers of medium. Hand painting is added to give each piece another layer of detail and additional depth. A final coat of medium, a signature and date complete each work.

Sixteen of these little darlings are gone — but ten more are available. Let me know if you’d like me to reserve one (or more) for you.

The edition in progress

Surface A — Z

5″ x 5″ mixed media on panel

Each piece is signed on the front and signed and numbered on the back.

Each work comes with a display easel.

$200. each

These are the available works *(the letters are not on the actual work)

Reproducing Your Artwork 101

Nancy Tobin — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 19:05:47 +0000

Fifiteen scans — put together in Photoshop & ready to meld

What would I do without my scanner? I’d either be thousands of dollars poorer or have much crappier images of my work!

I’ve gone around and around on this one: how to get crystal-clear images of my art. It’s a concern for many visual artists and one that isn’t that easy to solve if your work is over 8 by 10 inches.

Here are a few options:

• Get the work professionally photographed. I still have my doubts about the sharpness of detail you can get with a regular camera, so if you’re going to the expense of having a professional, I would make sure that they will be using a large-format camera. I really don’t have much idea how much this will cost you, but I do know that the cost will go down considerably if you have enough work to hire them out for a half day or a day.

• Photograph it yourself. Yes, I know it can be done; God knows I’ve tried. But my results are worse than bad. There’s this whole “focus” thing, and then there’s the “shutter speed” thing, and I won’t even mention the “aperture.” All of these terms make me weep with the pain of the photographically inept. So until the time when I can figure all that stuff out, I’m skipping this one.

• Take your work in to get scans made. This is by far my favorite solution! Many places that do large-format digital printing will also do large-format scanning. For about $100, you can get a high-resolution scan at full size. From there, you can use your image to make posters, enter juried shows, print greeting cards or anything else that you can think of! The price isn’t bad if you consider that even if your painting has sold, you still have the image — which you should own — to do all sorts of things with.

• Put the painting on your home scanner. As much as I love taking my work into get scanned, $100 a pop starts adding up when you produce 2o to 40 paintings a year — OUCH! So like many other artists I know, I put the painting on the scanner, and scan it myself. It works great! The resolution is super sharp, and the lighting and color is usually pretty good. Of course, this is all MUCH easier if your work is 8 by 10 inches or smaller — most of my work is not. So I place the painting down, and proceed to take scans of it in pieces.

I’m left with a handful of fairly large files that I need to reconstruct within Photoshop. I don’t know if I would suggest doing this if you’re uncomfortable with image-editing software. It takes some time, and it’s not an exact science. But you can save a ton of money and get really pretty great results.

Above is an image of all of the files put together, before I went in and merged them. As you can see, it isn’t seamless. That’s where some comfort with image-editing is important. I actually enjoy the reconstruction. The part I find tedious is the scanning, but putting the pieces back together is a little like working on a jigsaw puzzle.

Below is the finished image of Kansas, a 30″-by-30″ mixed-media painting on panel I completed recently. I also included an image of Oz. Both were named by my Wizard of Oz-obsessed daughter, who walked into my studio, pointed to the almost-finished paintings and announced, “That’s Kansas, and that’s Oz.” I thought she was spot on.

Kansas. All the pieces back together again!

Oz!

Blasted Cobwebs!

Nancy Tobin — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 03:24:41 +0000

I don’t know what’s got my head in a fog these past few days: Maybe it’s the after-winter-holiday blues, or maybe it’s the slowdown of my normally crazy schedule.

Whatever it is, I know it won’t last. I can’t stand standing still for too long. But for now — today — I’m recharging. I’m taking time to check in with favorite Web sites and blogs. I’m looking at pictures. I’m reading stories. I’m watching Hulu. I even made a tiny bear with my daughter!

Tomorrow, I’ll paint.

Walking Peacefully into 2010

Nancy Tobin — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 01:14:11 +0000

I recently finished a new painting; Peek III. It’s 24 inches by 24 inches.

This painting — like the others in the Peek series — is one I’m especially fond of. I think there is something so magical about “the peek”; that moment when you pull back the curtain, the branches, the seaweed … to discover a world that’s new and wonderful.

For the moment, Peek III is happily residing at a very special gallery in New York: Elisa Tucci.

I wanted to take the image a bit further, so I created a limited-edition artwork featuring a snippet of the painting, titled Peace Walk 2009. I thought the new year was the perfect time to introduce the painting and the edition! If you’re interested in the painting, contact Lisa Cooper at Elisa Tucci. If you’re interested in the edition, good news: You can find it on sale at my Etsy shop!

Here’s more info on Peace Walk 2009:

Peace Walk 2009
Limited-Edition Mixed-Media Print
Peace Walk 2009 is an edition limited to 100.
The process behind this print combines many of the
techniques I use in my painting.
The first layer is an archival inkjet print that is laminated
to a panel. Several layers of acrylic medium are added to enhance the surface.
Every print is then silk-screened in two different colors,
each separated by several layers of medium. Hand painting is added to give each piece another layer of detail and additional depth.
A final coat of medium, a signature and date complete each work.

Peace Walk 2009 - Limited Edition Artwork

Each artwork in the edition comes with a black, Shaker-style easel for display.

An Amazing, Inspiring Event!

Nancy Tobin — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 13:01:39 +0000

I was delighted to be asked by the New Jersey Center Visual Arts Center to do six special paintings for their Blank Canvas event that was held earlier this month.

The NJVAC’s annual fundraiser is known for it’s high caliber artists, who regularly donate works to for this incredible silent auction. This year was no exception. You can take a look at some of the pieces that were available, on the Art Center’s Flickr page.

Imagine ©200

It’s Two-for-One Print-Sale Time!

Nancy Tobin — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 20:05:15 +0000

To celebrate the season (and the fact that I am finishing all sorts of work and clearing all sorts of space in my studio!), I’m having a Two-for-One Print Sale!

When you buy one print at regular price, you get another print of the same or less value for FREE!

My shop is bursting with art to warm every cockle (what’s a cockle*?)

When you order one print, just tell me which one you’d like free in the “message to the seller” section.

To whet your appetite, I’ve just posted these brand-new darlings for your viewing pleasure; Nice Dream, Waiting Room and Little Knell.

Stop by the shop, and have a cup of cheer!

*According to Wikipedia, “the phrase warm the cockles of one’s heart may refer to the similarity in shape of the heart valves to the cockle mollusk”.

Fresh Out of the Studio & Hot Off the Press

Nancy Tobin — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 12:07:58 +0000

I really have been up to things, while ignoring my beloved blog. Painting, jewelry making, painting, shows, painting, sales, painting and painting.

So, as proof of the “painting” part — I present these three little gems; Calcifer, Glowlightly and Razz.

These brand-spanking-new paintings are available as prints in my Etsy shop, just in time to warm up your holidays!

Ta Da!: Make it Good

Nancy Tobin — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 13:23:47 +0000

Sunshine for the inside! My new work titled "Sun Shower I"

Yay! The weekend is finally here. It’s been a very long week; full of planning, painting and having the kids around all day. I hope the weather will behave — (I don’t know about your part of the world, but New Jersey has had more than it’s share of rain this summer) and I hope to have a little fun with my family.

Here are few new painting I just finished — Sun Shower I and Sun Shower II. May they ward off all evil rain clouds!

Have a good one!

I’m Painting — Really, I Am!

Nancy Tobin — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 02:18:52 +0000

Splat @2009

Busy as I’ve been, it brings me great joy to be posting another new piece — just finished today!

Yay! Now I’m going to bed.

Good night. Sleep tight. Don’t let the bed bugs bite.

Dreaming and Scheming

Nancy Tobin — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 11:33:05 +0000

It’s been a busy week.

Not a physical busy, more of a mental busy. There were several proposals for shows and grants due this week — of course, those things never seem to make it out the door until the last minute — along with juggling and planning for the three shows I have coming later this year. Mix in the fact that I want to keep up with my blog, the New York Times West of Chelsea interviews, my Etsy shop and painting (hello, that is what this is all about!), and I feel a little like my head is going to pop!

Just to prove (to myself, at least) that I am still a painter — I’m posting this brand new painting Pink Isotopes. Hope you enjoy the painting and the weekend!