Whale Scene on Nantucket by Pennsylvania Artist Kolene Spicher

Painting A Custom Whaling Scene for 

Nantucket Country

Nantucket Country Store 

All paintings except what is in the center (unfinished) are either sold or not available.  

I included a few unavailable pieces just so that you can have the correct feel for the coloration.  As I put washes on the water, it will pull more blue (like the mermaid next to it).

Similarities (see below) without completely copying.  Note the color of the water is more blue than reference. 

Yes, this is the middle painting reflecting additional work time throughout the week.  I love the action and light in the water.  I think the playful polka dots add interest to the folky whaling boats. 

Nantucket Whalers 

This painting is the Reference Material for the above Nantucket Country painting
This painting is available as a print ONLY.

I actually have a few paintings to blog about but am behind.  The above painting captures some action that Cam Dutton of Nantucket Country would like to see in her piece.

She wants her painting  to have less green in the water with more blue in the sky, whaling boats more prominent, and whales unobstructed.   This week's whales are more playful and the light house is "Brant Point" on Nantucket instead of an unknown lighthouse. 

Love the Smoke Stacks on the ship.  I am sure those sails in real life would have been brown with soot! 

Caption reads, "This happened on Brant Point." 

I always love to add some writing to my paintings.  I think it adds interest and reflects my playful side.  (See below)

Finally, here is another shot showing more of the painting in its entirety.  This is available thru NANTUCKET COUNTRY, Nantucket, MA.  Message me if you need the number  

Enjoy. 

 

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Building a Shadow-Box frame for Seashell Captain

Shadow-Box Frame for Seashell Captain 

Getting ready for the http://wiltonhistorical.org/events/american-artisan-show/ Show!  But before I do that, I miss finish this lovely... 

Here you can sort of see the shadow box effect in the photograph above.  It is about 1 1/4" deep to accommodate the shells comfortably.  

I made a duplicate frame and attached it.  The top frame is the original 1820 lemon gold frame.  The sides are not finished because some Joe tore it apart and this was originally a liner inside of another larger frame.  

While my solid black frame is not a perfect match for the top, it is very close and your eye is really fooled into thinking

that you are looking at a "double" old antique frame in all its glorious imperfections.  

As you can see, these old frames are not perfect.  Even in its imperfection, it was considerably expensive.  Add on all the modifications, and it gets laborious, too. 

I do love these shells!  

There is a self lining extender that also has to be custom fitted and then careful slipped inside the "double."  

When finished, this is what you see.  It turned out quite lovely, if I do say so myself.  This will be the last painting I sell for a while as I am going to paint for a show in the fall up in New England.  It is the Wilton Historical Society's original show now being held at the Society.  This building is amazing and chock full of antiques and wonderful reproductions.  It will be held the weekend of Nov. 4, 2017.  Here is the link: 

http://wiltonhistorical.org/events/american-artisan-show/

Thanks for looking

Like me on Facebook! 

KoleneSpicher@Spicher.Company

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Painting an old cabinet, painting a dog, painting frames

The week I fixed a bunch of frames and painted a cabinet 

and a dog! 

Everything is coming up RED, WHITE, AND BLUE

WAIT TILL YOU SEE WHAT THIS CABINET USED TO LOOK LIKE! 

I call this post, "The everything post."  I have had a busy 10 days.  With a wholesale show coming up (High Point Furniture market), I have been crammed.  Plus dealing with everything that life has thrown my way, I am one busy chick.  I am going to start with the cabinet, because I did that first.

There are drawers with this, too, but for some reason I photographed it without the drawers!  What!!!
Also, don't look at my messy studio.  

I lightly sanded this and then went to town painting it  I wanted it to  look as close as possible to an antique old painted cabinet that I loved but couldn't afford.  LOL.

This was the cabinet that I loved (the one on the left).  This is like 1825 and original and way expensive, like $100,000 PLUS.  

The top picture is an old cabinet.  LOVE THE TINY PULLS, but my cabinet's pulls are a little clunky....OH well!

I love the old cracked patina of this and the blotchy white spots on the painted cabinets.  

After more work 

So in this shot (above), I have added more chipping and lighter blue spots.  This was imperative to pull that old look off.  Actually, this looks better than in the photo.  Each day, I have worked a little on it.  The white cabinet's interior is also very cracked and chippy looking.  LOVE IT.   

LOVE #grunge

So what else did I do this last 10 days?  Well, I worked on some paintings that I have had around that I have meant to list on KOLENESPICHER Etsy, but have not had time.  Here is what I did!

I should call this painting "How many times can you paint this frame."  I think this is three...

Truthfully, I think I will keep these two.  I am in love with sailors.  I love this HOPE IS AN ANCHOR painting, too.  I truly believe the hope that God places inside us is like an anchor that helps us weather the storm.  

In this picture, you can see that the ANCHOR painting was painted black. 

I painted this black because I felt the other frame was a distraction.  It was so ugly, it needed something.  It's like having a perfect smile with a missing tooth. (NOT that my painting was perfect...) but you get the point.

This painting was unframed.  I had this frame sitting around but it needed painted.  I have two different colors in the graining.  The inside graining has a definite red tint 

I happen to think the black makes the whole painting pop.  I had it all grained at the beginning, but it needed something...  

Everything looks better on #spichervintagevinyl 

Lastly, this last 10 days, I painted this guy.  This makes No. 14!  I think he is a sweet boxer.  His name is King Louie! They called him Lou.  He just went to Doggy heaven.  I had to paint him next because I love his owner :(  SO sad.  Louie lives on through this painting...

Enjoy your day. 

Kolene Spicher 

  

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Original Whaling Scene, Maine Post 2

Starting To Add Some Color! 

A likeness of Curtis Light 

There are many lighthouses in Maine.  This painting is centered around Curtis Light which is just outside Camden Harbor.  This painting is not meant to be 

an exact copy but rather a gently likeness.  

My customer loves whaling and ships.  Like many of my paintings, this is a fictional rendition of a time back in the mid 19th century.  

I started to draw and realized that I didn't want the painting to have pea sized buildings so I went BIG with the scale.  You can sort of get an idea of HOW big in the picture below. 

The buildings are larger than I had drawn out on my thumbnail sketches, but I felt it was necessary.     I think it makes for better composition, especially when viewing from any distance. 

This could be a painting just as it is featured in the above cropped version.  However, it is just a snippet of  a larger piece.  Tomorrow, if I have time, I want to show you some more 

pictures of what I have completed.  If I don't post tomorrow, it will be Monday! 

As I paint, I will add layer upon layer until the oversized folky bricks sort of disappear and are not as obvious.  This is the very start of the painting.  

Tune back in for more... maybe tomorrow!

Enjoy! 

What a view! 

Thanks for looking today and spending a little of your day imagining what life might have been like back in the 1840s...

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A Whaling Scene - Part 2 - In 3 Dimension

Uh-Oh!! 

An unfortunate mishap! 

This is actually in 3-D 

Its hard to see the 3D effect here, so I am going to make this a little easier and add a pencil! You'll see! 

This little guy is actually attached to the tail. 

How about this picture!  and look at that frame!  I really love it!  The glass is wavy and old, which is an added bonus.  (Glass not present, yet). 

The whale spray jets forward 

Here is a shot with the frame and the painting in its entirety.  You can see the makings of another painting in the background.  

I love the soft blue green in the foreground.  It really nicely accents and makes the whale stand out.  The tail is in 3D, too. 

 I really spend a lot of effort on making certain that all of my paintings hang well with each other. Buy with confidence, they will all 'go' together.  

All the colors sort of blend.  You can tell that this painting is done by the same hand as my others.  See below. 

You can purchase my originals by messaging me or thru my KOLENESPICHER Etsy store.  Sorry, but I don't have anything up currently, as everything has sold.  However, You can still look at what I have offered in the past.   

Thanks for looking today.  Please check back for more updates. For instance, I am doing more trees, and I am ready to start another 3-D mermaid! That is what the big ocean scene is for in the background.  

ENJOY! 

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Wilton, Connecticut Show

My Paintings 

I had a fabulous time at the Wilton, CT show.  It was so much fun, and I have already committed to next year, Lord Willing!!!  

These photographed a little dark, but they turned out beautifully
The one on the left is on HOLD

I love my primitives and always will.  

If you see something that you like, message me, I still have some of these left.  

SOLD

This one might have been my favorite.  Mark was sad to see it sell :)  

I really loved this one.  They were painted on antique books and the bottom one is 3-D.  The tail and the water sort of project forward.  I love, love, love this one :)

These are both gone. 

The attendance was really steady.  Each day had a good bit of traffic.  The 'Society' is already talking about what they will do differently next year to improve the show.  If you think you might like to go to 2016 show, it will be the same weekend (first weekend in November).  I can send you info if you message me your address.  You might get a Christmas card, too! 

Sold 

Mermaids are always fun to paint and seem to bring the buyers joy.  Folks, that is what it's all about for me.  This one was painted on an antique canvas, too!  It has a real vintage look and feel.  

I am keeping this one for a while. 

SOLD

On Hold. 

The next show that I will paint for won't be until next summer.  I know that seems like a long way off, but time does fly.  

SOLD

SOLD 

HOLD or probably SOLD 

Just remember that nothing is ever impossible to repaint.  I love doing something that is similar.    If you have an idea, message me.  If you like something that I have posted, I might still have it!  Just drop me a note.  Thanks for looking.  

ENJOY! 

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