nathalie-kalbach

Build a Door – Art Journal

If opportunity doesn’t knock build a door ….yeah that is a good tip but sometimes easier said than done, no? LOL

I covered up most of the background on which I had shown all kinds of different techniques in a class with my Batik Stencil I used spray paint over it. I then covered part of it up for a doorway and pasted a magazine image on top which I overpainted.

for the journaling I simply added some paint stripes and then journaled on top of them. I do that a lot when a pattern is so prominent that the journaling is hard to add – an easy solution.

Here are some of the supplies I used for this spread.


Nat

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Currently Digging – July 2018 AIT

Once in a while I thought I would share with you some nifty finds – like an Artist who’s work caught my eye…, some Inspiration or the what, when and where that caught my eye and got my creative juices flowing, and Tools & Techniques I am currently digging like a new way to use a material or an application that I’m taking away. Hope you enjoy this.

Here we go for this month:

HuskMitNavn – yep …not a typo. I love his artwork! He is Danish, he is from Copenhagen and I found him on Instagram and ever since I am looking forward to his posts.

They are witty, they are fun , they make me smile and they are so good!

Go and follow him on instagram!!!

Traveling is such an inspiration – recently I have been to Amsterdam and walking around, taking pictures and just embracing everything that is different from what you know inspires me. As you might know I am a big advertiser of this kind of inspiration – and …shameless reminder – LOL- I wrote a book about it ;) Artful Adventures in Mixed Media. So when I came back from my trip I made sure to start painting right away. Below is the work in progress of a painting – only the underpainting is applied.

I am excited that I went to the studio right away and cannot wait to share with you some time the finished painting. BTW- am I the only one who sometimes finds the underpainting quite striking (or is this just procrastination talking out of me- hahahaha)

Ever since I took a denim mending course last year at the Textile Institute and also released my Embroidery Stamps – I am hooked on embroidery :) It is one of my favorite things now to do in the evening.

I love that you do not need much – some fabric, some pretty embroidery thread or simple thread, some scissors (mine are foldable -best gift EVER- thanks Val!), a hoop  and a needle– bang there you go :) I am not really good at it and every person who is good in embroidery will shake their head, but who cares. I have fun and this is not something I do to have as a heirloom forever. I have a couple fun ideas planned for the next couple weeks and will show you soon – maybe I get you hooked up on this as well !

Hope you found the things I am currently digging interesting and see you soon again with some new finds!

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Nat

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Inspired by: Amsterdam

A couple weeks ago my husband and I spent a couple days in Amsterdam. Amsterdam will always hold a special place in my heart, because that is the city my husband and I actually got together :)

We stayed in an Airbnb apartment which was amazing and in a house from the 15hundreds – the top photo is the view out of the bedroom window – pretty cool

Of course we went straight to a cheese store ..well we had to do some grocery shopping and that includes getting good cheese …Oh man, heaven!

We also took a little Canal tour – for the hundreds time- but it never gets old. Look at those pretty houseboats

and houses

and bridge corners

and did I say houses?

 

It was a bit of a gloomy day but still nice enough for the tour

I already started painting some of the views – just so beautiful!

We also walked a lot and that requires some refreshment and people watching at one of our favorite bars for that .

And everything looks even prettier when it gets dark

I fell in Love with the houses below while waiting for the tram close to the Rijksmuseum.

All the details- swoon.

And we went back to the one windmill in Amsterdam – which houses the Brewery I’TIJ’ which we have been visiting for 20 years and has changed and hasn’t :)

we spent a lovely afternoon there with drinks, cheese with celery salt etc. and some friends. It was a really good short trip. I do miss the possibility of going to a different country by train or plane in just a couple hours, so I am glad we were able to sneak this little trip in when taking care of some matters in Germany :)

 

Nat

Comments (2)

  • Jean Goza

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    Loved the photos. Amsterdam has been on my bucket list for awhile. I agree about travel in Europe. I love the ability to hop on a train or plane and be in another country so quickly. Very cool!

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Jean – you would love it or sure! Amsterdam is awesome!

      Reply

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Stroll Through The Hood – June 2018

Time for a Stroll Through the Hood . Strolls through my hood get me out of my studio, they help me unstuck and often I get inspired by what I see and to get new ideas to create something. It is part of my philosophy about Artful Adventures in Mixed Media – which is the subject of my book. Here are some photos that I gathered in the last couple weeks.

Niles demanded that I post him as part of the Stroll through the hood…when he doesn’t just relax he is patrolling his hood a lot  LOL

Those amazing flowers “torch lilies”  were just in bloom in our Van Vorst Park. Kim and I got some lunch and sat in the park on this very beautiful day and it reminded me that I should take my sketchbook into the park and go there more often.

Bicycle Ride to Liberty State Park – Look at the best office view ever!

Oh brother…what can I say- LOL – someone is blocking my view of Manhattan but ok…laughing also triggers your creative muse ;)

Work on a new mural – I have to go back now that it is finished. I love watching murals in progress and man – just the scale is so insane!

We are scouting out some other neighborhoods in the city and there are so many more murals of course.

A new distillery opened – Corgi Distillery – hence the outside stenciling of their facilities -fun! I like the color scheme too.

Technically my hood- since it is only 15 mins away ;) Always amazing when you walk around in Manhattan and then you look up and you are like “oooooohhhhh” . Also …maybe that could be a scene for a painting. I am intrigued by it.

Hope you enjoyed strolling with me through my hood always fun to discover new things and this monthly blogpost actually also pushes me to look for new things and fun things :)

Nat

Comments (2)

  • Shasta

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    I haven’t heard of torch lilies but those are amazing! Thanks for the tour of your neighborhood!

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Art Journal Flip Through 6/2018

I wanted to share a little Flip Through video of my newly finished art journal. I started this one in November 2017. I had fun with this journal for sure

Art Journal Flip Through 6/2018 from Nathalie Kalbach on Vimeo.

Hope you enjoyed this flip through. Have a wonderful creative day!

Nat

Comments (6)

  • susan

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    so fun, Nathalie!!! thank you for sharing your journal.
    :)

    Reply

  • JoAnn Campisi

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    Enjoyed flipping with you through your journal – love it!

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Thank you so much Jo Ann- hope you are having a gorgeous summer!

      Reply

  • Dee Spillane

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    Loved this flip through. I am going to watch again. So many great ideas

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Art Stroll: Whitney Museum – Permanent Collection

I always enjoy time at the Whitney – it is a short 15 minutes PATH ride from here and every time I am there I also enjoy seeing changes in the permanent collection.

Florine Stettheimer, New York, Oil on Canvas – 1918

I love this painting – how Stettheimer worked the folds of Lady Liberty’s toga, the view , the frame!

Japer Johns, Two Maps, 1965,Encaustic, oil, found paper and cotton on canvas

just look at the details – swoon!

Louis Lozowick, Strike Scene, 1935 – Lithograph

What an impressive print – it also kind of blew my mind how much work went into into creating the plate and the print showing a split of a second moment – being so used to photography nowadays.

Reginald Marsh, Death Avenue, 1927, Oil, charcoal, fabricated chalk, and ink on canvas

This painting shows the “Death Avenue” as it was called before the 1930s – and before the elevated train tracks were built – nowadays more known as the High Line. The freight line would frequently cause the death of a pedestrian. Marsh chronicled everyday urban life in his paintings.

When asked for his advice to young painters, Marsh replied, “How to draw? Go out into the street, stare at the people. Stare, stare, keep on staring. Go to your studio, stare at your pictures, yourself, everything.”

Charles Demuth, Buildings, Lancaster, 1930, Oil and graphite pencil on composition board

Thomas Hart Benton, Poker Night, 1948, Tempera and oil on linen

This is a scene from the theatre play A Street Car Named Desire. The story is that the painting was a commission and the female actor on the right looking into this mirror was totally offended by her portrayal since she was not wearing anything like the neglige in the painting.

Fairfield Porter, Portrait of Ted Carey and Andy Warhol, 1960, Oil on linen

In 1960, Warhol and Carey commissioned Fairfield Porter to paint their portraits. They thought they could save money by requesting a double portrait which they planned to cut in two, each taking his half. But Porter foiled their scheme by posing them so closely together that they could not divide the forty-inch-square of painting without ruining it. Warhol ended up buying Carey’s share and ultimately giving the portrait to the Whitney Museum of American art in New York.

Good on you Fairfield- well played :)

George Tooker, The Subway, 1950, Tempera on composition board

I always feel haunted by this painting and cannot stop looking at it.

The people look trapped, the woman seems anxious. Where is she going? What are the guys doing in the cubicles? Is it modern live anxiety …or the anxiety of living in an Mc Carthy era? I always think about the later.

Rockwell Kent, Moonlight, Winter, c. 1940, oil on linen

Agnes Pelton, Untitled, 1931, Oil on canvas

I hope you enjoyed the little Art Stroll through the Whitney – see you soon again with a different stroll.

Nat

Comments (4)

  • Sue Clarke

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    Well played indeed Fairfield Porter!
    I always enjoy your strolls although The Subway is just bizarre enough to make me uneasy. LOL

    Reply

  • Pam Hansen

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    I really enjoyed this, thank you for sharing your stroll. ❤️

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Watch Me – Art Journal

I can and I will. Watch Me!

I like this quote :) This is a page that started as a demo page at my workshops in Kentucky where I showed different techniques – I always love turning those pages into a finished spread.

some sketching with ink, stenciling and stamping

covering with gesso and taking away gesso

fun and quick.

here are some of the supplies I used besides acrylic paint and gesso:


Nat

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