Latest art news: Shhhhh . . . it’s a secret
Hi there. Hope you’re well!
We’re experiencing hot summer weather this week, but it feels like Christmas!
Two new 8″ brushes just came in the mail. (Guess I’m easy to please.)
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Do you believe in fate?
Do you believe in fate? Or in creating your own future? Or a bit of both?
“Actions are the seeds of fate. Deeds grow into destiny.” – Harry Truman. Seems he was ‘a bit of both’ kind of guy.
This new painting was inspired by the idea of creating our own destiny . . .
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New inspiration!
While walking with my sister along the High Line trail in Manhattan, we spotted these cool looking flowers. I especially liked how some flowers were much taller and stood above the rest.
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- I wanted to capture the strength of these tall flowers. Also, I wanted to keep pushing myself with new watercolor-like techniques using acrylic paints. (See all those drips?)
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- In this next step, I added many smaller flowers and aimed to get the feeling of movement.
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- To test a design, sometimes I snap a photo and look at it in black and white. A good painting will look good even without the colors.
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Done!
Writing My Own Fate
48 x 60″ mixed media painting by Holly Van Hart (sold)
To see all available paintings, click here.
To see all available paintings, click here.
You are welcome to come for a studio visit, or to try-before-you-buy.
[Top 50 Questions] How are you preparing for your museum exhibition?
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Opportunity
30 x 40 oil painting by Holly Van Hart
Originally posted in 2013 and just reposted with updated links to pics and videos of the show
My solo exhibit at the Triton Museum of Art will run from late November 2014 – mid February 2015. If you haven’t been there before, the Triton is a beautiful contemporary art museum in Santa Clara, CA.
This exhibit opportunity came about because my painting ‘Possibilities Abound’ was awarded first place in the Statewide Painting Competition hosted by the Triton. The prize was a solo exhibit.
The title of the solo exhibit will be ‘Possibilities’, and the theme is the virtually limitless possibilities that are available to us in life. In the Possibilities series, eggs are used to represent the unborn promise in our lives, and the nests represent the wonderful variety of homes we build for ourselves.
I’ll need about 15-20 paintings for the exhibit. About 1/2 are done. Some of the paintings are sold but (luckily!) the owners have offered to loan them back.
Preston Metcalf, Chief Curator of the Triton Museum, will decide how the paintings will be hung in the Rotunda gallery. He asked that I be there to give input, and I’m very much looking forward to the day we work together to hang the show.
The reception is December 12, 2014, 6-8pm. This will be the biggest art event so far in my career.
For photos and videos of my solo show and reception at the Triton Museum of Art, click here. (You can also download the catalog from the show . . . free!)
How do you know when a painting is done?
Possibilities in Full Color
24″ x 30″ oil painting by Holly Van Hart
Purchase (email holly.vanhart@gmail.com)
When I look at the painting and am pleased with it, then it’s done.
To be pleased with it, the painting needs to convey the desired idea or feeling or mood, be well designed, well executed, and have some kind of pop or surprise or glow that makes it special. If it’s missing any one of these things, it’s not finished!
I sometimes have the feeling that a painting is done, but then after a couple of weeks, decide it needs further tweaks or even major changes. Then it goes back to the easel.
On rare occasions, I know right away when a painting is done. It feels like a personal breakthrough, and all the stars and moons have aligned, and I’m really digging what I see in front of me. Wish I had more of those days 🙂
Click here to see the rest of the Top 50 Questions
Be the first to get Holly Van Hart’s latest paintings, art exhibit news, and VIP members-only special offers (includes a free gift). Click here to learn more.
Secrets Within
Here’s one of my latest abstracted forest paintings . . .
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The Secrets Within
40 x 30″ mixed media painting by Holly Van Hart
$3800
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The Secrets Within
Mixed media painting by Holly Van Hart
Secrets Within is currently available. Would you like to see more? Please email holly.vanhart@gmail.com to inquire about delivery (free in the continental US) or to arrange a studio visit.
Embracing the Light
Here’s my latest abstracted forest painting –
Embracing the Light
48 x 60″ mixed media painting on canvas by Holly Van Hart
$7,500
This pic shows Embracing the Light installed (center) –
Abstracted forest paintings by Holly Van Hart
Woodland Symphony, Embracing the Light, Autumn Dance, and The Stories They Tell
Please contact holly.vanhart@gmail.com or 650 646 5590 for availability and pricing. Your email or call is welcome any time.
New forest painting – Anonymous for a Little While
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Anonymous for a Little While
48 x 60″ mixed media painting by Holly Van Hart (sold)
New! Where would this path lead us to? Not sure? Neither am I, but it looks like a fun and colorful place. Let’s check it out!
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Forest and floral paintings by Holly Van Hart
Installed in a living room
From left to right – Embracing It All, Anonymous for a Little While, The Secrets Within, Vibrations of Time
This painting is sold, but you’re invited to check out these available paintings.
3 abstract nature paintings
‘Autumn Dance’ ‘Summer Sparkle’ and ‘Amid the Scent of Roses’
Currently hanging my my home, but could be hanging in yours 🙂
Want to see more pics of installed paintings? Click here.
The Sun’s Warmth – New abstracted forest painting
Like a cat, I love feeling the warmth of the sun on my skin. Do you?
Come step into this sun-soaked forest . . .
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The Sun’s Warmth
36 x 48″ mixed media painting by Holly Van Hart
$4800
Story behind the painting
This painting is hanging in my home, but it could be hanging in yours 🙂
Would you like to see this painting in person? Email me for a studio visit.
To purchase, email holly.vanhart@gmail.com. Free shipping in the continental US.
Latest art news – The Two Yvonne’s
Hi there.
Every once in a while in my VIP emails, I feature a collector of my work. Here’s a fun fact. Two collectors of my paintings are both named Yvonne and they are both CEOs of San Francisco-area companies. What a coincidence!
Meet Yvonne Linney –
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Standing Naked in Front of a Crowd
In “Top Fifty Questions”, I answer the top 50 questions I’m asked as an artist (usually at cocktail parties and other fun social events).
How does an artist feel before a big art exhibition?
Like standing naked in front of a crowd!
Do you know that feeling of creating something new (product, recipe, marketing campaign, etc), and then feeling exposed and vulnerable when you revealed it?
Well, that’s how we artists feel every time our art is exposed to the world . . . vulnerable. It’s true for novice artists as well as the most experienced and even (I hear) famous artists.
Putting on a brave face before my Open Studio event
Behind me is ‘Posh’, oil painting by Holly Van Hart
And the bigger the art exhibition, the greater the feeling of exposure. The reason is that the most authentic artwork will reflect an artist’s deepest feelings and thoughts and ideas.
So when we exhibit our art, it feels like we’re standing naked in front of a crowd. (Or how I imagine that would feel, as I’ve never actually been naked in front of a crowd.)
Holly