Blog: Artwork

Artwork is on Sale!

As part of my BIG Holiday Sale in the Online Shop, all Artwork is 30% off too! Artwork is one of those very special and personal gifts and maybe you were thinking about someone on you list or maybe just yourself ;)

I have stuff at each price point including Giclee Prints of some of my paintings like:

…a winter scene that I call 1.25.2016 because it was the day of a big blizzard, and also This Too Shall Pass, a local scene with one of my favorite murals of a wave in it.

I have original paintings like Hamburg Harbor and Tacheles, both scenes from my native Germany.

Highline and Swapped are both scenes from NYC and both original paintings on canvas.

As you can see, buildings, the cityscape, and my neighborhood are huge sources of inspiration for my paintings. In the layers I create I am both playing with media but also suggesting a lot of history and change that these places have seen. Painting them is so important for me and I am planning on exploring all of this with a much greater focus in the months to come. Stay tuned :)

In the meantime though, shop the sale! It is a great time to get something to hang on your walls for a nice price indeed.

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Medieval Minds – Art Journal

“We are living in modern times and yet we are dominated by medieval minds.”

Isn’t this the truth.

For this background I played with my Buenos Aires Stencil and Star Struck Stencil using Acrylic Spraypaint. I outlined some of the areas with acrylic marker to add some colors that were used in the painting in the collage calendar page.

I remember when I created the original painting that the colors were unusual to use for me and yet I still love the painting- which is for sale here: Highline Original Painting also available as prints.

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Thinking about… Original Artwork

Guess what? I love artwork! Hahaha you knew that though, right? I like making it, looking at it, talking about it, reading about it, and yes I like collecting it too. I don’t really think of myself as an art collector, but if you walk around my home, I have a lot of stuff hanging on the walls and most of it is art that I really, really love. So I guess I’m an art collector :)

Some of the works I have are favorites that I’ve made and hesitate to part with just yet. Sometimes you make a piece that really has meaning or turned out so nicely that you might want to live with it for a while. I’ve got some of those. I also have a wall of work in my office that is a collection of pieces by friends. I’m so lucky to have met so many talented folks through the years and I love to have some of their work too. Also in there I have a wall of vintage photos from my relatives and I love looking at them and thinking about their lives long ago. And then I have paintings and works on paper that I’ve gotten from art shows and art fairs, where I met the artists right then and there and just fell in love with what they were doing.

Having original art pieces around the home inspires me and keeps me connected too – something made by the hands of another artist is just a really cool, and powerful human connection. And it might not be something that you’ve ever considered. Lots of folks think original artwork is not within their reach – it’s something you see at museums or in the homes of high society. I am here to tell you that’s not the case at all! As an artist I really want to have my work speak to people, people everywhere who would like to listen.

I haven’t been able to devote much time to creating artwork lately (visitors, online workshop duties, life etc), but I still do have pieces in my online shop that are waiting for just the right person to welcome them home. And that includes some Original Artwork at lots of different price points. Please read on:

Regeneration” is an original drypoint print of an historic building in Jersey City – the Powerhouse. It’s inked in a colorful mix of inks, matted and signed and just $50. I was thinking about this building again because it seems as though the mayor would like to give up on it and finally tear it down. What a loss that would be (it is a beautiful reminder of the industrial past downtown), but not super surprising considering the power that developers seem to have here.

Here is another version of that same drypoint print. Here “Regeneration” is hand printed in two tone, highlighting the masonry but also maybe hinting at the intensity of the discussion surrounding this building now.

Hope” is an original mixed media collage piece that is matted and framed and ready for your wall, and it’s just $55. You may recognize some of my rubber stamps in this one, along with my unique way of sketching the details in architecture. This is an original piece – no other will ever be like this one again and as a lover of art, that kind of thing makes me happy. You get some of me, a little bit of my own artistic madness, for your home (or office or studio etc).

Push & Pull” is an original painting on canvas that I have in my shop for $125. I love the layering in this piece and how the details of the Victorian home turned out. It is of course inspired by a home in my neighborhood, a place where the push and pull of gentrification is felt on every block. Here are a couple other views of this beauty:

I hope you take a look around in my online shop but also in the shops of other artists. Creating is a language and our way of communicating our thoughts, sharing, and discussing ideas. In the ideal world the resulting artwork realizes its full potential when it is viewed, considered and enjoyed by others – like YOU ;)

Here is a link to artwork in my shop.

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Gritty – New Painting

Gritty” is a new painting of mine that I’m happy to share with you today. The name refers to both a physical state AND a mental/emotional one, and is very appropriate for this piece that is a montage of buildings in my neighborhood in Jersey City.

As you know, the history of buildings and their occupants is a fascination of mine and drives a lot of my work on canvas. Sure I love the architecture of older buildings and all those cool design details, but learning the stories behind all that is what really inspires my artwork.

In this painting I used layering in the background with both patterns, letters and numbers to suggest the passage of time and the history that could be uncovered. It’s kind of misty and murky and you have to take some time looking to see everything that’s there.

Buildings come into focus like memories, some of the details are there but others fade out.

There’s a bit of heavy texture – grit – to the painting because hey, my neighborhood has grit, and the more I learn about it, the more I fall in love with the persistence of its residents, both past and present.

I hope you like taking a closer look and seeing how I look at my local environment :)

“Gritty” is available here in my shop. The painting measures 24″x36″ and is created using acrylic paint, acrylic ink, graphite, markers, gesso, and spray paint on canvas.

Comments (1)

  • Sue Clarke

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    Oh Nat, this is beautiful!
    The background pulled me in and I’m searching for the flowers, letters and details.
    It definitely makes me think of the layers of physical structures in your hood as well as the human stories that overlap.
    I enjoy making up life stories when I see places and people. I sometimes drive my hubby crazy when I share the story of the people eating at the table near us in a restaurant. Of course it’s my version of their life. I imagine it might be what writing a fictional book must be like.

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Giclee Prints – Artwork for All

Not only do I love creating artwork, I also love hanging artwork that I enjoy on my walls, and I bet you do too! That’s why I’ve had prints made of many of my paintings – I’d love for my artwork to be available for all who may want to hang one in their space.

These prints are Giclee Prints – brilliant and true colors printed on high quality paper that you can frame and hang and enjoy just as you might an original piece, but at a price that is accessible to everyone. That is the beauty of collecting prints and I thought it might be nice to look at some of the prints that I currently have available here in my shop.

The first piece is called “Whose Front Yard” and I painted the original shortly after moving to the US and Jersey City. I was and still am very much taken by the cityscapes around NYC and the drama and grandeur of the Statue of Liberty in the NY Harbor. I thought it might be interesting to consider this view from another perspective :) This print is available in both a small size and a medium size.

“Fallen off the Edge” is another take on the NYC skyline, as seen from the Jersey City side of the Hudson, arguably the best view of NYC that can be had. This piece combines cityscape with layered imagery and suggestions of past stories to be uncovered… something that is a big part of what inspires me to create art. Here is a link to this print in my shop.

When I first moved to Jersey City, I lived in a converted pencil factory that wound up becoming my muse for several paintings, including this one called “1.25.2016”. This is a winter scene, capturing the winds and driving snows of a blizzard that hit us on January 25th, 2016. It’s always magical while it’s snowing in the city and for a few hours after it’s over and then… it’s a total mess and a lot of hard work to dig out lol. I wanted to preserve the magical time, before the plows and shoveling. Here is this print in my shop.

2016

We have a couple Shepard Fairey murals in Jersey City but there is one in Downtown that grabs you right when you come up from the Path train station. It’s pretty intense and I had to capture the whole scene in my painting, called “This Too Shall Pass”. I will let you ponder the combination of mural and setting – a place in town that is just about 2 feet above sea level in our changing climate… and you can find that print here in my shop.

You can find all my giclee prints in my shop here and there are more to choose from – I just pulled a few to talk about today. I hope you find something you like and remember there are also original works to browse through in the Artwork section of my shop. Enjoy!

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New Original Collage Artwork

I’ve got some new original artwork for sale in my online shop this weekcheck them out here!

This is a group of collage pieces that I created using collage papers, some of my favorite stamps, acrylic paint, and other mixed media materials that were on hand at the time. I was thinking about layering and making different elements work together when I created these.

Each piece is matted and framed in white and can be hung on the wall or displayed on a tabletop. I’m selling them for $55 each so a nice little deal for these if you are looking for some original artwork for your home, gifts, etc.

Here is a peek at Hope and Lady Liberty

And here is Powerhouse and Message Received

Finally we have Stay Strong and We The People

I love when I get myself a little organized and have some artwork that I can share with you. Sometimes in the chaos of creating, running a website, and juggling all the other stuff that comes with being a working artist, this is hard to pull off. But when it does, you always surprise me with your enthusiasm and excitement, and that really makes me happy :)

So check them out here in my shop while they are in stock, and I hope to be sending one of these out to you soon!

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The Lombard – New Painting

“The Lombard” is inspired by my Strolls through the Hood in Jersey City.

It shows a street view of the oldest pawn shop in NJ – H. Schoenberg, founded in 1895. I was thinking about how while this is type of business is a lifeline for folks, it also conjures sad feelings when I pass it and see the things in the window. So many complex stories and circumstances are in plain sight.

My overarching mood however is one of hope, and better times ahead, and hopefully the souls who visited the shop will be able to return once again and claim their instruments and heirloom jewelry as their own.

This original painting was made with spray paint, acrylic paint, gouache, ink, pencil, markers, pastel, and collage on canvas.

“The Lombard” is available in my Shop and would love to find a new home. 

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Up in the Hills – New Painting

“Up in the Hills” is a new painting inspired by my Strolls through the Hood in Jersey City.

Moore’s Place, a bar and jazz club run by Mrs. Ruth, has been here for over 60 years as part of the neighborhood, and now during the pandemic has become a special, magical space with live jazz music outside every weekend to soothe our souls.

The building itself used to have a different life long before the music arrived – there is still machinery in the basement.

I have yet to uncover the history of this building – one day I will ask Mrs Ruth, but right now I let her hustle and bustle around us lucky happy faces when we are here to listen to the music and see the people of the neighborhood, while eating Mrs Ruth delicious fish fry.

For this painting I used spray paint, acrylic paint, gouache, and markers on canvas. Give Moore’s Place a new home – and purchase it here in my storeedited: So stoked this painting found a new home at home here in Jersey City !!!

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Till the Curtain Comes Down – New Painting

“Till the Curtain Comes Down” is another painting on canvas inspired by my Strolls through the Hood in Jersey City . I love this beautiful brick building from 1887.

I used spray paint, acrylic paint, gouache, collage, wax bars, and markers. The house was built by a descendant of one of the oldest Dutch familes of Jersey City, Wilhelm Brinkerhoff. He was a state senator who died in 1931. After his death, the building was a christian mission with a radio station on the roof.

It has a bit of a Rapunzel Tower feel for me as the building is a little bit overgrown by plants and even though someone lives here it seems to be mysterious. I picked up some piano player roll paper and the first thing that happened was I saw the wording “till the curtain comes down” and that my friends is how the title was born ….I mean …it was just meant to be .

Till the Curtain comes down is looking for a new home. You can find it here. The canvas measures 10×10″.

Comments (1)

  • Christine Kiehl

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    WOW! This is truly amazing work!!! LOVE IT!

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