Latest Paintings by Holly Van Hart

"Morning Light"

2010-12-31T15:37:00.000-08:00

"Morning Light", Oil on canvas, 40" x 30", Available

Happy 2011!

About a year ago, I painted "Lakeside Morning", and once it was dry, placed it on the mantel over our fireplace. In November it moved to the home of a great friend of mine in Aptos, CA. I'm always glad to see my paintings find new homes, and (at the same time) am sad to see them go. This was especially true of "Lakeside Morning". I missed it!

This last week (between Christmas and New Years) I had lots of time to myself, which is a rarity, and I used the time to paint. I painted all day Monday through Friday. The first of my finished paintings is "Morning Light" (above) which is based on the previous "Lakeside Morning" painting but is six times bigger. What do you think? Do you prefer one over the other?

Another couple of paintings are in the works, and I'll post them as soon as they are done.

Thanks for your interest!

Happy Holidays!

2010-12-23T08:41:00.001-08:00

Dear friends,

Happy holidays! I hope this greeting finds you happy, healthy, and excited about the year to come.

I wish you all the best in 2011. May it be a year full of wonder and merriment.

All the best,
Holly

Solo show at Konditorei

2010-08-06T13:50:00.000-07:00

Please stop by at Konditorei in Portola Valley to "sneak a peek" at my show

Hi friends.

Hope you're well and having an amazing summer!

The Konditorei cafe in Portola Valley is featuring a solo show of my "People" series from Sunday August 8 through Friday September 10. This show includes oil paintings of interesting people . . . some local folks, and some fascinating-looking folks from faraway places. These "People" paintings were created over the last 2 years, including a few just-completed pieces.

If you haven't been there before, Konditorei is a great little coffee shop in Portola Valley (click here for a map). Please stop by to sneak a peek at the show, and to enjoy some of their amazing coffees and pastries. Konditorei is a fun place to hang out, and they have free wi-fi. If you let me know when you're going, I'd love to meet you there. Hours are Mon-Fri 6:30am - 5:30pm, Sat 7am - 4pm, Sun 8am - 12:30 pm.

Hope to see you soon,
Holly

P.S. "Art for a cause". Proceeds from sales (from the Konditorei show and from my online gallery) will be donated to a non-profit school of your choice.

"Red Sailboat on Fallen Leaf Lake"

2010-07-14T21:05:00.000-07:00

"Red Sailboat on Fallen Leaf Lake", Oil sketch on panel, 9" x 12", Available

Hi Friends.

Thanks so much for stopping back.

A couple of weeks ago my family and I had the great pleasure of joining our friends the Mitchell's at their beautiful home on Fallen Leaf Lake in the Sierra mountains. My husband brought his sailboat, I brought my oil paints, the children brought their watercolors, and everyone was happy!

"Red Sailboat on Fallen Leaf Lake" was painted while I was sitting on the beach near the marina. My husband and children and the Mitchell's were out sailing in my husband's boat (the red boat to the right).

These paintings - "Jumping In", and "Lakeside Morning" - were also inspired by trips to Fallen Leaf Lake with the Mitchell's. They were painted in my studio based on photos I took at Fallen Leaf Lake.

Do you have a favorite?!

"Monkeying Around"

2010-03-31T06:00:00.000-07:00

"Monkeying Around", Oil painting, 20" x 16"

This is a painting of my 8-year old Skyler on the monkey bars in the playground in Portola Valley (where we live). He's been climbing on monkey bars since pre-school, and loves them. It's impressive to watch children on the bars and how much they improve each time. If only I could do them so well!

For my 'People in Action' series, I wanted to paint Skyler doing monkey bars. I snapped many photos over many months before I got just the right photo to inspire this painting.

You may know this already, but if you don't, copying a great photo does not make a great painting. Many many adjustments are required! In addition to judicious cropping, changes often have to be made to the colors, background, and more. In this case, the monkey bars in the playground are green. And I painted the bars green, only to realize that it made the painting out of balance - the top had mostly greens and the bottom had mostly reds. It looked terrible. Then I re-painted the bars red and achieved the balance I wanted. I made other changes too . . . simplified the background, changed the color of this clothes, and more.

Any comments?

Thanks for visiting!

"Jumping In"

2010-01-19T20:00:00.000-08:00

"Jumping In", Oil on canvas, 20" x 20", Available

Woohoo! "Jumping In" is meant to evoke that fantastically fun feeling of being a kid again and doing a crazy jump into some beautiful blue water.

In case you're wondering, the lake featured in this painting is Fallen Leaf Lake near Lake Tahoe, California. The dock belongs to our dear friends Charlie and Elizabeth M. Thanks, Charlie and Elizabeth, for sharing your wonderful place at Fallen Leaf Lake with us!

"City Flow" on the cover of a book!

2010-01-12T19:03:00.000-08:00

Cover art is "City Flow" (Holly Van Hart, Oil on canvas, 20" x 24")

In June, quite to my surprise, I was contacted by Dr. Evangelia Psychogiopoulou, Research Fellow at the Hellenic Foundation for European & Foreign Policy in Athens, Greece. She found the image of "City Flow" on this blog, and made the following request, "My colleague, Dr Dia Anagnostou, and I have edited a book ‘The European Court of Human Rights and the Rights of Marginalised Individuals and Minorities in National Context’ on the basis of the work carried out in the frame of a research project that was funded by European Commission. We very much liked your painting and we were wondering whether we could get your permission to use it as a cover for our book."

I was honored! I said yes, and a few emails were exchanged and an agreement made, and just this month the book was published. The image above shows my artwork on the book cover (on the right side of the image), and the text on the back of the book (on the left).

Isn't the internet amazing?! Now I feel that I have a new friend, a lawyer and researcher, who lives in Greece and who connected with me via my blog and email. A copy of her book is on its way to me now, and I definitely look forward to reading it. Thank you Dr. Psychogiopoulou!

"2009 Artist of the Year" - Los Gatos Art Association!

2010-01-05T19:00:00.000-08:00

Hi Friends, and happy new year!

I have some fun news to share with you. I was awarded the Los Gatos Art Association "Artist of the Year" for 2009. Lucky me! The LGAA president, Karen Bemis, conferred the honor at the December holiday event.

The Artist of the Year is chosen based on the results of peer group judging events at the LGAA monthly meetings. At each monthly meeting, artists bring in a piece of their art, and we all vote. There are about 30-50 artists at each meeting, and 15-20 of us typically bring in work for judging. There are 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners each time. My awards this year were: 1st for "Shopping" in January, 1st for "Red Dao Face" in March, 1st for "Dreaming" in May, 1st for "Lakeside Play" in June, 2nd for "You Too I Welcome" in September, and 1st for "Having Fun" in November.

Thank you, LGAA artists. I feel very honored by your support!

Best wishes, everyone, for a wonderful 2010!

"Lakeside Morning"

2009-12-15T14:03:00.000-08:00

"Lakeside Morning", Oil on canvas board, 16" x 12", Sold

Last month, my close friend Elizabeth invited my family (my husband, two young sons, and me) for a weekend at her house on Fallen Leaf Lake, CA. Elizabeth has three beautiful children, and we were joined by our friends Lisa and Toby, who also have three beautiful children. We hiked, had wonderful meals, chatted, relaxed and just spent time enjoying each other's company. Thank you, Elizabeth, for a super-special weekend!

Fallen Leaf Lake (near Lake Tahoe) is a stunningly gorgeous place. It was carved into a deep valley long long ago by glaciers, and there are expansive views of mountains just about everywhere you look.

On Saturday morning I snuck away from the breakfast activity, and snapped lots of photos as material for paintings. Then I kept taking photos all weekend long.

Here's the first of what I hope will be a few paintings from that weekend. It's called "Lakeside Morning". It's a very simple design, which I hope enhances the feeling of serenity I was aiming for. Enjoy!

"Resting On Windy Hill"

2009-12-06T08:40:00.000-08:00

"Resting On Windy Hill", Oil on canvas board, 12" x 16", Availab le

Near our home in Portola Valley is a great hike up to the top of a mountain that is aptly named Windy Hill. The hike is a few miles along a steep grade to the peak. First the path winds through the trees and past a little duckpond; then it opens up to sweeping views of the nearby hills and the San Francisco Bay Area.

My friend Taryn and I hiked to the top with our sons (two 5 year olds, and two 7 year olds), which was quite a feat for the little guys. It was a beautiful sunny day and I took lots of photos as reference material for paintings.

This image brings back strong memories of our fun excursion, as well as many other hikes and bike rides I've taken on Windy Hill over the years.

"On Art" Newsletter - Extrovert or Introvert?

2009-11-23T11:09:00.000-08:00

"Lakeside Play", Oil on canvas, 16" x 20"

To keep in touch with friends (art friends and other friends, old friends and new friends), I publish a short, fun "On Art" newsletter by email every few months. This issue, "Extrovert or Introvert", is about about art and personality. Are you an extrovert or an introvert, and does this impact the type of art you like?

Click here, take a look, and send me a note (holly@hollyvanhart.com) to tell me what you think. I'll report the results in the next newsletter.

To subscribe, click here.

Happy reading, and thanks for your interest.

1st Place - "Having Fun"

2009-11-14T15:32:00.000-08:00

"Having Fun", Oil on canvas, 20" x 16", Available

Hi Friends. I'm reposting "Having Fun" to share some good news with you. At today's Los Gatos Art Association meeting, this painting was awarded 1st place in the peer judging contest. The judges were the 30 or so artists who were present at the meeting. I feel very honored by the award. Thank you, fellow artists, for your votes and support.

If you live in the San Francisco Bay area and are interested in meeting other artists and seeing demos by established artists, I encourage you to come an Los Gatos Art Association meeting. At today's meeting, there was an oil painting demonstration given by Shannon Grissom; she painted a large-scale still life. I learned a lot from Shannon, and she's a very funny lady so we all had lots of laughs along the way. Hope to see you at an upcoming meeting!

"A Thought of the Universes"

2009-11-01T14:35:00.000-08:00

"A Thought of the Universes", Oil on canvas, 36" x 12", Available

Hi friends. "A Thought of the Universes" was inspired by Walt Whitman's poem On the Beach Alone at Night (click here to read the poem). I had lots of fun playing with the yellows and reds on this piece. There's also some green to complement the red and make it pop out a bit (especially near the small red circle in the upper part of the painting). Enjoy!

"Three Souls"

2009-10-03T07:41:00.000-07:00

'Three Souls', Oil on canvas, 24" x 18", Available

Hi friends. Here's my latest painting - 'Three Souls' - inspired by Walt Whitman's poem On the Beach Alone at Night. This series is about how we're all connected.

Other paintings in this series are 'A Vast Similitude', 'A Vast Similitude 2', 'All Distances', 'All Souls 1', 'All Souls 2'. Unlike the others, this painting is on a single canvas (it's not a diptych like 'A Vast Similitude' or hexaptych like 'All Souls').

Thanks for visiting, and enjoy!

"All Distances"

2009-09-04T09:40:00.000-07:00

"All Distances" (Detail), Oil on canvas, 36" x 18", Available

"All Distances" is the latest painting in my series inspired by the Walt Whitman poem On the Beach Alone at Night. This series is about how we're all connected - across nations, distances, time, civilizations, etc. Of course Walt Whitman said it best in his poem. My job is to convey it best visually (which is a really fun job).

I'm also working on an "All Distances 2" and hope to post it here next week. Thanks for visiting, and enjoy your weekend!

"All Souls"

2009-08-19T14:13:00.000-07:00

'All Souls 1', Oil on canvas, 6" x 6", Available

'All Souls 2', Oil on canvas, 6" x 6", Available

Hi friends. Continuing the series started with "A Vast Similitude", here are two of six small paintings that comprise a work titled "All Souls". Like "A Vast Similitude", the title comes from a Walt Whitman poem called On the Beach Alone at Night.

This series (like the poem) is about how we're all connected - all souls, all nations, all civilizations, all lives and deaths, etc. Of course Walt Whitman said it best in his poem. My job is to convey it best visually.

Each painting uses multiple circles to convey connectedness. Connectedness is also underscored by the use of multiple canvases for a single work. "A Vast Similitude" spans 2 large canvases (a 'diptych'). "All Souls" spans 6 small canvases (a 'polyptych', or 'hexaptych'). The paintings are designed to hang together or to hang individually.

On the theme of connectedness, here's a current example from my life - Fifteen years ago while on some business trips to Tokyo I befriended a wonderful woman named, Mayumi O. We met at an English-speaking cafe (a place where Japanese people go to practice their English, and visitors go to meet Japanese people). We spent quite a bit of time together then, and kept in touch by mail every few years since. Well, a few weeks ago, out of the blue, I got a telephone call from Mayumi. She was thinking of coming to San Francisco and could she visit me? Yes!!! So she's staying the better part of the week in my house; we're having loads of fun getting reacquainted and touring the local sights. What a special experience. We're all connected!

"A Vast Similitude 2"

2009-08-12T15:39:00.000-07:00

"A Vast Similitude 2", Oil on canvas, 30" x 40", Available

Mr. George Rivera, Executive Director of the Triton Museum in Santa Clara, offers his time to artists once per month for a portfolio review (by appointment). I met with George last year, and he provided extremely valuable advice and insights. So I met with him again this year, just last week. Wow, I learn so much from George.

Among other things, I presented George with eleven images of my abstract landscapes, and asked for his input. Which were the strongest? Why? Which were the weakest and why?

He gave me detailed feedback, which was exactly what I was looking for. Thank you George!

When I paint a realistic painting, I'm pretty good at determining what's working well and what's not. But with abstract work it's different. I find it harder to judge.

I was very pleasantly surprised when George selected as his favorites "A Vast Similitude" and (shown above) "A Vast Similitude 2". They were designed to hang together, but each one is also meant to stand on its own. These two paintings are some of my favorites as well, and are currently hanging on my dining room wall. They are also for sale, and could soon be hanging on your dining room wall!

"Etty Bay"

2009-08-05T14:49:00.000-07:00

"Etty Bay", Acrylic on canvas panel, 8" x 10", Available

Hi again! Here's the realistic version of Etty Bay, painted in plein air (outside) while I was there in July. Click here for the abstract version, "Red Etty". The little boy playing in the creek is my older son Skyler. My husband, my two young sons, and I spent a few wonderful days at Etty Bay. The beach was lined with palm trees, and the shade of the trees made a perfect spot for observing and painting.

The Australians are a very friendly bunch, and many approached me to see what I was up to with my paints and canvas. It was a perfect opportunity to meet the locals. It was great fun to befriend a precocious 8-year old boy named Morgan who was VERY interested in painting, and gave me some amazingly insightful critiques. Many many thanks to Morgan and all of you who stopped by to say hello!

I love to paint in oils, but you may have noticed that my paintings from Australia were done with acrylics. Oils are my fave, but they dry so very slowly. Too slow for a family on the move in Australia. So I decided to give acrylics a try. I used very slow drying acrylics called Atelier Interactive Artists Acrylics; they behave closer to oils than any other acrylics I've used. I also mixed Atelier Thick Slow Medium with the paints, which increased the drying time even more. I was very pleased with the Atelier Interactive product. And, I'm glad to be back home and using my oils again!

"Red Etty"

2009-07-31T14:35:00.001-07:00

"Red Etty", 8" x 10", Acrylic on canvas, Available

G'day mates! Here's the first of three plein air paintings that I'll post from my trip to Australia. ('Plein air' simply means painted outside.) It's called "Red Etty" as it was painted on a gorgeous beach called Etty Bay on the Queensland coast.

My family and I stayed at Etty Bay for a few days to visit with our Australian friends, Susan and Grant. Susan was celebrating her 50th birthday. In fine style, as it turns out, with over 50 friends, all ages and from all walks of life, a live band, an outdoor dance floor, awesome Asian foods, lots of liquid refreshment, and to top it all off, a super-yummy chocolate cake.

In the US, many people who turn 50 just try to forget the whole thing and hope nobody notices. In Australia, they throw big parties for themselves. Woohoo! Looks like we have lots to learn from the Australians. Thanks for sharing your celebration with us, Susan and Grant!!

My other plein air paintings from Australia were also painted on a beach, but they are realistic (vs abstract, like this one). After painting many beach scenes - with sand (tan), the water (blue and green), sky (blue) and trees (green and yellow) - I was missing my red paints!

Sitting on the beach in the shade of some palm trees, while my children played in the waves, I squeezed out a big blob of red paint, and a little bit each of the other colors, took out an 8" x 10" canvas panel, and set to work. The result is "Red Etty". Although the painting looks nothing like Etty Bay, it will always bring back strong memories of our awesome time there.

Award of Merit - California State Fair

2009-07-24T10:31:00.001-07:00

"You too I welcome", 24 x 30", Oil on canvas, Sold

Hi friends. We're back from our 5-week trip to beautiful Australia, where the beaches are stunningly gorgeous and the people are super-friendly. It was loads of fun. We spent most of our time along the Queensland coast, snorkeling, boogie-boarding, and just playing around. We spent 3 nights on a deserted island along the Great Barrier Reef. We were the only people there for the first two nights, and on the third day a friendly American couple showed up . . . and wouldn't you know, it turned out that they live in San Francisco, about 30 miles from us! I posted photos on my Facebook page. Feel free to 'friend me' if you want to take a look.

I have some good news to share. My painting "You too I welcome" was accepted into the California State Fair, and it won an Award of Merit. Click here to read my previous blog entry on this painting. The juror was Jack Ogden, Professor Emeritus, California State University, Sacramento. Jack Ogden has received numerous awards and honors over his career, and his work is in the permanent collections of many museums.

The California State Fair is being held August 21 - September 7 in Sacramento, CA. It looks like fun stuff to do for the whole family. If you go, please stop by the art exhibit and check out the paintings, sculptures, and clay and glass art. Click here for more details on the fair.

I'm glad to be back, and I'm glad you visited. Hope you're having a great summer!

From 2007 - "Two Pelicans"

2009-07-15T14:44:00.000-07:00

"Two Pelicans" (detail), Watercolor

G'day mates. And greetings from Australia!

While I'm away on vacation, I'm posting paintings of my bird series in watercolor from 2007. Here's a detail from a painting called "Two Pelicans". I loved the sparkle in this guy's eye, hence this detailed view. His beak was a brownish color, but I charged up the oranges and reds to make it more exciting. Enjoy!

Soon I hope to be back to a location where I can upload my paintings from Australia. Thanks for visiting, and stay tuned!

From 2007 - "Lilac Breasted Roller"

2009-07-08T14:37:00.000-07:00

"Lilac Breasted Roller", Acrylic on canvas, 4" x 6"

Glad you're back!!

"Lilac Breasted Roller" was created acrylic paints on canvas. It was inspired by a photo taken by my friend, Veronique Gillard, of a bird called (what else) a lilac breasted roller in Africa. I loved the colors on this bird. Thanks Veronique!

This painting is now in the home of my son's awesome kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Crespin, who tells me she is still enjoying it.

From 2007 - "Two Flamingos"

2009-06-30T14:31:00.000-07:00

"Two Flamingos", Acrylic on canvas, 6" x 4"

While I'm on vacation, I've scheduled some blog postings from my animal series in watercolors in 2007. Here's "Two Flamingos", a little experiment in acrylic on canvas. I liked how the flamingos seemed to be so comfortable with each other, like an old married couple. Enjoy! And please come back next week!

From 2007 - "Seven Pelicans"

2009-06-24T14:20:00.000-07:00

"Seven Pelicans", Watercolor, 11" x 15", Sold

Thanks for visiting! While I'm on vacation in Australia, I've scheduled some blog postings from my animal series of watercolor paintings created in 2007.

Here's "Seven Pelicans". This painting was inspired by a photo I took on a family vacation in Mexico. We were enjoying a quiet morning on the beach, and a bunch of pelicans landed on a nearby fishing boat. They looked so contented and peaceful, which is just how we were feeling at that moment, so I snapped some photos.

Back in the studio, I found a photo I liked, cropped it, changed the contrast to suit my purposes, and got to work with watercolors and paper. I like to use colors creatively, as you may have noticed from this painting. The pelicans were actually brown, not purple as shown above.

Now "Seven Pelicans" is beautifully framed and hanging on a wall in Switzerland.

Gone Fishing . . .

2009-06-17T11:31:00.000-07:00

"Fishing" (detail), Watercolor, 2007

G'day, mates. My family and I decided (on fairly short notice) to head off to Australia for a vacation for a few weeks! So I'm gone fishing. Well, really I'm gone vacationing and painting.

I'm taking my paints and canvas panels, and plan to paint lots of Australian-inspired landscapes and abstract landscapes. We'll be traveling to remote locations (like the Outback), which means I may not be able to post any work along the way. Instead, I've scheduled blog postings of my previous watercolors, one each week, in the hopes that you'll keep visiting!

The painting above, "Fishing" is a watercolor completed a few years ago of my beautiful niece Kirsten. She's fishing in a little pond at my parents vacation summer home in New York. I took some photos of her there, and then painted this when I got back to my home in California. Now the original is hanging in my brother's home in New Jersey.

Thanks so much for visiting and for all your comments and support. Hope your summer's starting out to be a fun one.

Please come back next week to check out the next installment from my watercolor series!