Family Day At The Track

Family Day At The Track

10" x 10"

oil on canvas

These two women at Saratoga National Race Track found a spot in the sun and a moment of quiet while surrounded by their children's things. Their picnic is set up on the table in the shade.

Normally, I would paint this three or four feet wide, but the Saratoga Arts Center is having a show called "10 x 10" only of artworks of this tiny dimension, so I tried it. This is the third one that I am entering in the show. I like the size better than the diminutive 6" x 6" format I've been painting for the daily paintworks movement (see DPW), I can get a cleaner line and the fractured color I favor even in large paintings is easier to execute at this size.

This painting will be on display at the Saratoga Arts summer exhibition, "10 x 10 = 100," Opening Saturday, August 1st, and can be purchased through them, www.saratoga-arts.org. 

Making His Picks
10" x 10"

At Saratoga National Race Course, giant old pines shade most of the paddock, where fans hang out all day, with friends, picnics, and lots to drink. I caught this man alone, basking in the sun, completely focused on the daily racing forms and making his picks. His shirt in the light matched the monitor in the shade. I painted the people in the background with beautifully muted colors and very simple shapes.

This painting will be on display at the Saratoga Arts summer exhibition, "10 x 10 = 100," Opening Saturday, August 1st, and can be purchased through them, www.saratoga-arts.org.

Walking Crescent Beach

40" x 30"
Oil on canvas

I painted this from a photo I took on Siesta Key, FL, in February, 2015. It was a cool day, but the sun was bright -- it produced strong lights and shadows, and warmed us enough to walk in shirtsleeves. I love the ubiquitous sun visor and rubber flip flops she has with her. The blue life guard stand is one of four along the beach: red, yellow, green and blue. When you want to meet someone, you give them the color of the stand near you. 

This painting won an award at Art In The Park, University Park, FL. 

Click here to purchase.

No risk guarantee: If you’re not completely satisfied with your painting, return it in its original condition within 7 days and I’ll refund your payment, excluding the shipping fee. 

Blue Cooler

Oil on Canvas, 10"x10"

Blue Cooler
This is a fellow I spotted in the paddock at Saratoga National Race Course, one of my favorite people-watching locales. Yes, the horses are more beautiful, but I love the way the spectators stake out their spot for the day, bring their needs in a cooler, and their comfort in a portable chair, and settle in for a day of betting. His buddy must have just gone to place his bet; he left his Coors on the cooler.

Last weekend, my husband and I went to The National Museum Of Racing Hall of Fame to hear Greg Montgomery speak at the opening of the new gallery they’ve devoted to his 30 years of posters for the annual Travers Stakes race. These silk-screened works are such an inspiration to me. He’s a graphic designer who has taken actual images from the track and created iconic works that are simple, elegant and visually stunning.

Please CLICK HERE to purchase this painting.

No risk guarantee: If you’re not completely satisfied with your painting, return it in its original condition within 7 days and I’ll refund your payment, excluding the shipping fee. 

Three Wood

Spring time golf in the north country is often cold and rainy. But I took this picture on a sunny day which gave me deep shadows and warmed it up. I think this painting is more in keeping with my large paintings – simplified shapes and broad, flat planes of color. I’m starting to think of these mini paintings as sketches for large format paintings, a way to work out color, form and composition. I like the way this one scales from very tiny to possibly very large. 



No risk guarantee: If you’re not completely satisfied with your painting, return it in its original condition within 7 days and I’ll refund your payment, excluding the shipping fee. 

Surfside Conversation

It’s been several weeks since I last posted a new painting, because I took two weeks to transition from our FL house to our NY house. I’m shocked it took so long, but there are so many little things to catch up on in this nomadic life.

So, I’m still working on some paintings from my Florida beach scenes, while I snap some images up north to paint this summer. This one is of two women in a conversation, with the gulf waters behind them. (In reality, they were on a crowded beach with a blue life guard tower behind them – see the original below.) I edited it heavily to simplify the image and tell the story of the coastal waters. But when I merged it with the water shot, I found the mother taking a photo of her daughter running into the surf. Notice that she has her iPhone raised about a foot and a half from her face; before, she would have been holding the camera up to her eye. Quite a change in less than a decade.

Here's the original photo...

Boy On A Butterfly Towel

I think this boy was about ten, though he looks older. He was dwarfed by the brilliant towel his mother, who is sitting next to him, draped over his chair. He was watching me take their picture behind those mature looking sunglasses. Some day soon, I’ll paint his mother, too.

No risk guarantee: If you’re not completely satisfied with your painting, return it in its original condition within 7 days and I’ll refund your payment, excluding the shipping fee. 

The Architects

These two girls on a beach on Cape Cod found their little brother’s stone structure and went to work rearranging the stones. (You can see him below, in my blog.) I loved the striped bathing suit on the standing girl, but had to strip away all the people on the beach behind her to make the pattern show up. 

No risk guarantee: If you’re not completely satisfied with your painting, return it in its original condition within 7 days and I’ll refund your payment, excluding the shipping fee. 

Father and Son in the Surf

This man was playing with his son on Elbow Beach in Aruba. His pockets are full of shells. I love the boy’s hat.

No risk guarantee: If you’re not completely satisfied with your painting, return it in its original condition within 7 days and I’ll refund your payment, excluding the shipping fee. 

Mother And Son in the Surf

Elbow Beach on Bermuda had few children when we visited, but this little boy had been playing in the surf until his Mother came down and started looking for shells. He had to see what she was doing. 

No risk guarantee: If you’re not completely satisfied with your painting, return it in its original condition within 7 days and I’ll refund your payment, excluding the shipping fee. 

Little Builder

On a beach on Cape Cod, I found this boy building a Stone Henge-like structure with the plentiful stones he found around the water’s edge. He was oblivious to me sitting only twenty feet away.

No risk guarantee: If you’re not completely satisfied with your painting, return it in its original condition within 7 days and I’ll refund your payment, excluding the shipping fee. 

Yoga Class

Early in the morning, people gather on Siesta Key Beach for free yoga classes, but this woman was already set up for a leisurely day. The sand on Siesta Key Beach is like raw sugar – fine, cool and glaringly white, so I have deliberately painted it with just a faint beige color.

No risk guarantee: If you’re not completely satisfied with your painting, return it in its original condition within 7 days and I’ll refund your payment, excluding the shipping fee. 

Blue Beach Chair

I found this man on Siesta Key Beach, my favorite here on the west coast of Florida. But I was attracted to that empty beach chair almost to the surf. I watched for awhile, but never saw its owner.

No risk guarantee: If you’re not completely satisfied with your painting, return it in its original condition within 7 days and I’ll refund your payment, excluding the shipping fee. 

A Good Day To Start A Blog

I hope that April Fool’s Day is a good day to start a blog. It's not that I take blogging (at my age!) as a joke, but that I may be foolish thinking that anyone will follow it.

In the days and weeks ahead, I'll post some of my paintings and tell you how you can buy them online, through www.dailypaintworks.com or from my website: www.nancyfairchild.com.

And we'll talk about "artfulness," the pursuit of which is almost mentioned in the Declaration of Independence -- "We hold these truths to be self-evident...life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." Art is my happiness, (after my family) and I try to pursue it in everything in life. I even studied the philosophy of art in college, trying to find artfulness even then.

So I hope you'll join me in this pursuit. Let me know what you find artful. And expand your own measure of happiness.

Checking The Sights

Oil on panel

6"x6"

This girl came out to the beach on Aruba late in the day, so the shadows are long. She was engrossed in studying the tourist brochure so she didn't notice me taking pictures. This is the first painting I've uploaded that was inspired by the tiny paintings on Daily Paintworks. Soon you'll be able to buy my paintings through their site. 

Nancy