Blue Lapis Studios

Changing my Blog

2011-12-13T17:20:00.000-06:00

This will be my final post on blogspot.com. I have finally gotten a fine art website and it is www.nancymarshburn.com. Fine Art Studios Online allows me to have an integrated blog so I am moving my blog there. I would like to thank everyone for visiting this site and hope you will continue to look at new work on the above website. I also have a new website for my medical art. It can be found at www.nancymarshburn.wordpress.com. Please feel free to visit both sites and I look forward to hearing from you there!

Beach Ladies Gab Fest

2011-07-05T14:10:00.001-05:00

Litchfield Beach (or any beach) is a great place to gather to catch up on all the happenings of the past year. I like to think these ladies are doing just that while taking in their surroundings. This piece is 9" x 12" on Wallis paper.

Lake Norman Sailboat

2011-07-05T14:03:00.000-05:00

It is July and hot here. Wish this were my boat and I could just sail away! I did this piece on location as a plein air painting. It is 9" x 12" on textured gator board and framed in a gold leaf frame. You can find it at Andre Christine Gallery.

Mozambique Boat 2

2011-07-05T13:50:00.000-05:00

This is a companion piece to Mozambique Boats, posted earlier. It is also 16" x 20" on textured gator board and is framed in a gold leaf plein air frame. The frame makes the colors sing. Have a look during the opening on July 9 at Andre Christine Gallery in Mooresville.

Clementine on Blue Plate

2011-06-16T12:52:00.001-05:00

A little radial symmetry, some strong light and complementary colors ... sounds like a good setup to me!

Prize Winner!

2011-06-08T09:46:00.002-05:00

"Triplets" won 3rd prize in the Spring 2011 Piedmont Pastel Society Show! The prize was a 60 stick Terry Ludwig Southeast Landscape pastel set. Sweet! These are absolutely luscious pastels.

Summer show at Andre Christine gallery

2011-06-07T20:42:00.002-05:00

I hope you will come by the new show at Andre Christine Gallery in Mooresville, NC. My featured piece is Mozambique Boats at the top of the postcard. The opening reception is Saturday, July 9 from 6-9 PM. Lynn Gingras, the owner, will always meet you with a smile and answer any questions with no hard sale tactics. The gallery is a delightful place to browse.

Mozambique Boats

2011-05-10T19:30:00.000-05:00

Turquoise water isn't exactly found where I live, so it was great fun to paint it. This pastel painting is 16" x 20" and is done on textured gator board. You can find it at Andre Christine Gallery in Mooresville, NC.

The Face of Fall

2011-04-22T13:05:00.001-05:00

I've done a study to work out ideas for a possible larger painting. What do you see here?

My Darling Clementine...

2011-04-22T13:02:00.000-05:00

...okay, very cliche. This is a small 8 x 10 pastel on Wallis paper. I have found still life work to be challenging as the depth of field is so small. Values need to be studied as the background is really only inches away, compared to possibly miles away in a landscape painting. Comments, anyone?

Egg 1, Egg 2

2011-04-22T12:55:00.000-05:00

We see eggs here, but these paintings are essentially about shapes, a wide value range and and narrow color range. Trying to paint white is a wonderful exercise in seeing color

New Pastel Painting

2011-02-07T17:17:00.002-06:00

A long weekend in June in the NC mountains was the starting place for this painting. The weather was nothing like the finished artwork. In the photo it is a gray day with very flat light. I decided to make it a much nicer day. You can do that as an artist on your painting surface...or anyone can do it in their own mind!

AndreChristine Gallery opening

2011-01-12T17:41:00.001-06:00

I am proud to announce my participation in the opening show of the new AndreChristine Gallery in Mooresville, NC on Friday, January 14 and Saturday, January 15. Consider yourself invited!

A Very Still Life

2010-12-07T16:29:00.000-06:00

"Juicy" is a zoomed in still life of cherries and a kiwi. It is 18" x 18" on Wallis paper and is sold. However I see more of this in my future...

2010-10-27T14:01:00.000-05:00

"Barnhardt Road Barn" is a scene along a frequently travelled road nearby. It is not my most recent work; I just realized I had never uploaded this particular painting before.

Lakeside Artists Studio Tour

2010-10-17T10:44:00.000-05:00

Many, many thanks to all who visited this weekend for the studio tour. It was great to see family and friends and I appreciate all your support. Thanks also to those who sent best wishes and good vibes from afar. I sold a number of paintings and notecards and feel honored to have my work displayed in someone's home.

Lakeside Artists Studio Tour

2010-10-15T21:37:00.000-05:00

We had a successful opening day of the studio tour. A number of people said they were checking out all the sites and planning to return tomorrow to purchase their selections. Old friends stopped by, yes, a good start...

New work

2010-10-08T09:25:00.000-05:00

"Amsterdam Quay" is a mood piece done predominately in grays. Just like in life, though, there are bright spots that hold the hope of sailing off into the glorious sunset. This piece is 11" x 14" done on textured gator board.

Pastel Still Lifes

2010-06-13T21:36:00.003-05:00

Though I have almost exclusively done pastel landscapes, I have shifted recently to still life, at least for awhile. A cup of tea on my back patio makes for an interesting play of backlit subject matter.
Yes, that bite of cherry was good! The most vibrant color is found in the midtone and I have underutilized my red pastels. Red is a wonderful color.
I like to draw and pastel allows you to make marks. I think that is part of why I picked up this particular medium.

2010-06-10T20:03:00.003-05:00

I went to graduate school in Augusta, GA. This was a nice place to go for a break! And the Georgia red clay is a great color, way better than brown.
The out of doors is a theme in this blog. We were biking in Pagosa Springs, Colorado when I decided to stop and snap this photo. It turned into an 8 x 10 pastel on textured gator board.

Pastel Art

2010-06-10T19:13:00.004-05:00

A trip to the California coast inspired "Morrow Bay Saturday". It was sprinkling when we first passed this spot. The sun came out when we got to the parking lot and I ran back and captured the scene in sunlight.

I learned how to make my own textured boards in a Susan Ogilvie workshop. This painting and the following one were done "en plein air" at Anne Springs Close greenway in South Carolina.

The San Juan mountains near Pagosa Springs, CO are the subject of this 8 x 10 pastel on textured gator board. It is a simple piece, but don't you just want to walk out into the meadow?

Still More Paintings

2009-03-18T10:30:00.005-05:00

Evening Shadows is a scene near my house. I am attracted to landscapes with strong light and shadow. In the photograph there is little detail in the shadow areas; they are essentially black. But because I have seen this area many times, I know that this same shadow area is full of color and detail, though muted. It is my favorite section of the painting.

Yet More Paintings

2009-03-17T10:25:00.004-05:00

The light and shadow patterns with intense fall colors make for a dramatic scene. This painting is on Wallis paper and is 8"x10".

Point Lobos Fog is from a family trip to the California coast. I figured out why there are so many plein air painters out there-what a plethora of scenes to paint! This was done in the studio back home and is 18"x24" on Wallis paper.

New Post with New Paintings

2009-03-16T15:45:00.004-05:00

Lake Norman's shores are red clay, so on windy days the water takes on a reddish hue. It makes for a good fall painting. I've used my favorite Wallis paper, this time a white paper which I underpainted with the complementary color to the object color.

This small 8"x10" pastel began in one of Maggie Price's workshops, but I got very little done on it during the allotted time. Back at home I pulled it out and began using line to add color and form with no blending.

Local Color

2009-03-15T19:45:00.004-05:00

This sycamore tree is being undercut by the waters of Lake Norman, so the painting is called "Jetton Park Holdout". We have red clay around here, hence the red tint to the water. It is on green Canson paper and is 12"x18".

Autumn Leaves 2 is from a series of photos taken of colorful fall leaves. The black background gives a lot of pop to the bright colors. It is done on Wallis paper and is 8"x10'.

Recent Landscape Pastel Paintings

2008-12-10T17:09:00.006-06:00

This is one of my latest efforts in pastel landscapes called "Pretty in Pink". It depicts a scene from Yellowstone National Park, though not the picture that national treasure usually brings to mind. Yellowstone is not all geysers and paint pots. The northeastern quadrant along Blacktail Plateau Drive between Mammoth and Tower Roosevelt is a beautiful area in August when the firepinks are in full bloom. This painting is 18"x24" and is on Wallis paper.
"Pagosa Sky" comes from a hike to Four Mile Falls just north of Pagosa Springs, CO. I liked the diagonals working in the clouds and the meadow. The painting is 18"x 24" and is on Wallis paper. Hey Mont, recognize yourself?
This small 8"x10" pastel is from a trip to Sky Valley, GA last fall. I used the reference photo in a Maggie Price workshop to experiment with underpainting. I used 4-5 different values of purple to paint in the scene getting the values correct, and then came in with the appropriate object colors. The underpainting helps lend continuity to the overall picture.

Great news!!

2008-08-14T17:51:00.003-05:00

I had a nice surprise in my mailbox today. I found I had 2 paintings accepted into the Richeson 75:Landscape, Seascape and Exteriors 2008. The pieces accepted are "Sugar Cane Blues" and "Sept-ember". The first painting is shown in my July 27 post and the second in the July 25 post. I am pleased and excited as this is an international competition. The exhibit is open September 12-November 4 in Kimberly, WI. Yes, I have a smile on my face right now.

More Pastel Paintings

2008-07-27T14:35:00.005-05:00

This piece is called "Sugar Cane Blues " and it has been a winner for me. It is from a picture I took on a trip to Haiti in 1984. I won first prize in the Appalachian Pastel Society and 2nd place in both the Lake Norman Art League and Mooresville Artist Guild Shows.

"Max Patch Trail" shows the view from the Appalachian Trail in this section of North Carolina near Hot Springs. It is 11 x 14" on Amersand Pastel Board. The photo was not great so I used the opportunity to add to it-like all the clouds in the sky and the atmosphere in the distant mountains.

A spot on the coast of Wales provides the inspiration for this painting. I found the design and the texture of the rocky coast of interest. This pastel is called "Isle of Fecundity" and is 12" x 18" on Wallis paper.

Putting a Human Face on it

2008-07-26T11:51:00.007-05:00

Pastels are a verstile medium. I decided to try adding figures to some paintings.

This piece is called "Wo Sind Wir?" or "Where Are We?" I've used a technique of underpainting with the complementary color to give an area "pop". For example, the green jacket in the foreground figure was first underpainted with red, then I used green pastels rubbed lightly over the surface so the background color shows through. This painting is 12" x 16" and is on Wallis paper. It won an honorable mention in the Fall 2008 Piedmont Pastel Society Show juried by Maggie Price.

"Baguette Brunch" was an exercise in doing a portrait. It is 9" x 12" and was painted on Ampersand Pastel Board.

These Colors Aren't Pastel, Are They?

2008-07-25T16:49:00.004-05:00

I wanted to experiment with using my pastels in a looser, more colorful way. How could I use less detail, but still show the viewer what I wanted to show? See what you think.

"Luminous Flux" won 3rd prize in the Mooresville Artist Guild's spring show in 2007. It sold at their Blue Moon Ball fundraiser.

This piece is called "Sept-Ember". It is 8" x 10" and is done on Wallis paper. My son asked, "Why are the trees blue?"

"Nap at Logan Pass" is a colorful piece that was chosen as a purchase award in the Lake Norman Art League's fall show in 2007.

This small (5" x 7") painting was entered in the Lake Norman Art League's postcard contest sponsored in part by the Arts and Sciences Council. I was awarded an honorable mention.

Beached for the Winter

2008-07-25T16:34:00.002-05:00

This painting was done for a poster contest, Boats of Lake Norman, put together by the Lake Norman Art League and sponsored by ASC North. I was juried into the poster along with about 9 other artists. The poster and the original paintings were exhibited in local venues as well as in the Christa Faut Gallery in Cornelius. This painting was also accepted into the North Carolina Pastel Society's juried show in 2007. It sold at that show.

Pastel Landscapes

2008-07-25T15:32:00.008-05:00

These are some of my earlier pastel paintings. I have been hiking and camping in a number of national parks and wilderness areas and these places provide many beautiful landscapes to paint just a little off the beaten track.

"Autumn Passage " shows a point on the trail to Spence Field in the Smoky Mountains National Park. It is 20" x 24" on Canson paper. This piece won 2nd place in the Mooresville Artist Guild's spring show in 2006. It was also juried into the North Carolina Pastel Society's show in 2007.

"Rocky Mountain Vista" was painted from a camping trip to the southern Rockies with the Sierra Club. I like the cool of the distant mountains and sky compared to the warmth of the golden grasses in the foreground. The painting is 19" x 26" on Canson paper.

"Alpine Afternoon" originates from the same Rocky Mt. camping trip as the painting above. It is 9" x 12" on Wallis paper.

This painting depicts the River Taff that flows through Cardiff, Wales. Many years ago I had a scholarship to spend a year there studying medical photography. I used to ride my bicycle along this path to get to the hospital where I was training.

Paintings from St. Georges Island

2008-06-13T15:57:00.005-05:00

All of these paintings came from a wonderful trip we took with family to St. Georges Island in Canada. Margaret and Randy were incredible hosts. I have more images to work from.... This painting is called "St. Georges Summer" and is 17.5" x 23.5 " on Canson paper.

This is called "Morning at St. Georges" and I've made notecards as gifts for family and friends from this image. It also hangs in our host's house.

"Call of the Loon"

This is an 18" x 24" pastel painting on Wallis paper called "Rock Cove".

Shell Game

2008-06-13T15:31:00.005-05:00

It is amazing the things you can find right there in your house that make good subject matter for a painting. This pastel is done on Wallis paper and is 18" x 18" in size.

Symbiosis

2008-06-13T14:48:00.004-05:00

This pastel is a foray into the still life genre. I have mostly painted landscapes but this plant arrangement in my house had some interesting shapes and colors.