Posted by Nancy Tobin on Aug 8, 2009 in
News,
Ta Da! 
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!
xo
Goodbye rain clouds here's to the sun! Sun Shower II ©2009
Tags: art, weekend
Posted by Nancy Tobin on Aug 3, 2009 in
Inspiration,
Reviews 
"Go team!" I think "Julia" by Keith Haring looks like a cheerleader with a little skirt. My daughter Lily thinks it looks like a shower head. What do you think?
Along with the usual campfires, beach and family fun I had last week — when I was home for our annual camping trip with my family in Western Michigan — I took time out to see some of the unique treasures in the area.
Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park is a gem! A world-class collection of gardens and art that took my breath away. Here are a few pictures of the multitudes …
Here's another one, that I don't know the name of … I think "Junkyard Dogs" fits, though.
I'd like to take this piece (titled "Mad Mom" by Tom Otterness) home.
I stopped by the Mad Hatter's tea party for a "succulent" treat.
Lovely, lovely Dale Chihuly's chandelier makes me want to go home and paint!
A section of the huge glass lighting fixture/sculpture by Dale Chihuly.
One of three figures made of letter forms by Jaume Plensa.
This Alexander Liberman piece titled "Aria" is like a song.
Tags: art, Camping, Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, Grand Rapids, MI, sculpture, Western Michigan
Posted by Nancy Tobin on Jul 21, 2009 in
Daily Babble,
News,
Ta Da! 
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.
Tags: art, bed bugs
Posted by Nancy Tobin on Jun 23, 2009 in
Interviews,
Profiles
Susan Napack's studio is a delight everywhere you look!
This week I visited with artist Susan Napack in my West of Chelsea feature for The New York Times Local.
The first time I ever saw Susan’s work was at an opening for a show she had at The Dancing Goat — local cafe and performance space. The “Goat” is now defunct, but Susan’s work left a lasting impression.
Susan describes her work as “an offbeat examination of found objects and nature culled from these collections — including hundreds of wishbones — which have supplied material for sculpture, digitally enhanced photographs, drawings and paintings.”
I would descibe them as pure magic!
Tags: art, New York Times, Susan Napack, The Dancing Goat, West of Chelsea
Posted by Nancy Tobin on May 21, 2009 in
Shop Talk 
Flower. Mother. Hush.
This is one piece that I actually had a vision of before I started, and stuck with it to the end.
I usually start off with and idea and then it kind of blossoms from there in a free flowing way.
One time I counted each little flower and circle that I cut, but I’ve forgotten. I do still have the callous on my thumb from cutting all of them out with scissors!
I recently added this piece as a print in my Etsy Shop. It’s available in the 8 x 10 inch or the 13 x 19 inch sizes.For a limited time, the large print is on sale for $30.
Tags: art, Collage, Etsy, painting
Posted by Nancy Tobin on Mar 26, 2009 in
In the Studio I’ll probably be posting a lot of “In the Studio” pieces in the near future; as I am frantically trying to get work finished for a few upcoming shows (More on those soon!)
So here’s another peek at what I’ve got going on!
After my wonderful Fellowship at the Brodsky Center; I was left with more than a head-full of exciting ideas, new friends and wet clothes. I also received 10 of the 30 editioned pieces of Hush my glorious collaboration with papermakers Lisa Switalski and Anne McKeown.
Hush Redux - in progress
Hush - Paper pulp
I was also given all the proofs that didn’t quite make the grade. Of course, as a collage artist I’m not going to get rid of any of those delicious bits! So I thought I’d share with you the beginning of this new painting I’m doing, using the scraps from Hush as a base. I’m not sure where I’ll be taking it from here, but I’ll keep you updated as it progresses!
Also, I’ve included a shot of the very start of the piece I’m doing with the shadows that I mentioned in the previous post.
Layers to go before I sleep, layers to go before I sleep!
The first layer of shadows
Tags: art, Hush, New painting, painting, Print and Papermaking Fellowship, shadows, The Brodsky Center
Posted by Nancy Tobin on Dec 28, 2008 in
Inspiration,
Ta Da! 
Sweetness Follows © Nancy Tobin
The holiday season is one of those times — like vacations — when I spend a lot of my time doing something that isn’t painting. I get antsy when I haven’t been in the studio for a while. The burning desire to create makes me anxious to get back to work.
As difficult as it is to sit still, I’m thankful for these periods of rumination. As many artists are, I tend to be hermit-like and could easily lock myself away in the studio. Being out in the world brings inspiration and opens my eyes to things I need to see.
Right now my head is swimming with ideas for the new year. When I get some quiet time to put the pieces together, I let you know what I have planned!
Tags: art, Holidays, Inspiration, painting
Posted by Nancy Tobin on Dec 24, 2008 in
Giveaways! 
Andrea Kobayashi!
There was a lot of excitement building at our house yesterday, mostly between my youngest daughter, Lily, and me.
Nine PM was the time I set for the Frosty Frieze Art Giveaway drawing. The names of all the lovely folks who came and commented on my blog in the past 28 days had been carefully written out on little slips of paper and placed into Lily’s brand-new Hanukkah hat. When the clock struck 9, Lily reached up into the hat that was held high above her head and plucked out the name of Ms. Andrea Kobayashi.
Andrea is an Australian-born artist who’s currently living in Yorii Machi, Saitama, Japan. She sells her beautiful paintings, drawings and prints on Etsy. She has a delightful blog called Dukaduka as well. As a card-carrying member of the “too much is never enough” school of art, I appreciate her ability to tell a story in such a simple and bold way. Here are a few samples of work she has available in her shop.
Standing Stones by Andrea Kobayashi
Ferdinand (detail) by Andrea Kobayashi
Not Everybody Gets to be Cute by Andrea Kobayashi
Way-cool birds!
So congratulations to Andrea, and a giant thank you to everyone else who participated! And to all the people celebrating myriad holidays this week, hope yours is blessed with peace and joy!
I’m off to wrap a huge pile of presents and decorate Christmas cookies with my kids.
xo Nancy
Tags: Andrea Kobayashi, art, Etsy, Japan, Monotype prints
Posted by Nancy Tobin on Dec 6, 2008 in
Ta Da! 
It feels so good to finish work and be able to post it on my blog. It’s like checking items off my to-do list. So it gives me great pleasure to introduce Sucratic System! It’s a 10-by-10-inch piece executed in acrylic and painted paper on a 2-inch-deep, cradeled panel. I worked on this piece for a very long time, in fact, I’m not quite sure what lies on the very first layer, so it’s very thick with layers and jam-packed with visual goodness!
I thought the final layering of purple looked like melted sugar when it’s pulled, or some sort of organic system of veins or nerves, I like how the purple draws you in, hopefully you’ll stay for a while!
Sucratic System �2008 Nancy Tobin
Tags: art, Nancy Tobin, series of tubes
Posted by Nancy Tobin on Nov 12, 2008 in
News,
Shop Talk It’s an Itsy Bitsy Etsy Shop!
I’m so excited about my new store on Etsy. If you’ve never gone to Etsy before, you’ve got to check it out! It’s all handmade goods, and there is a lot of stuff that’s real good!
I had been looking for an outlet to sell my lower-priced items and giclee prints, and this is the spot for me.
Waiting Pool
Come and check out all the great stuff I have for sale right now:
- Small Works
- Giclee Prints
- Holiday Cards
- Original Art at Amazing Prices!
Tags: art, Etsy, Giclee Prints, Holidays, Shopping
