Tiger Swallowtails Alight

Remnants of Flight

oil on canvas, 11"x14"

email info@susannapantas.com for more info

When my friend found this Tiger Swallowtail butterfly in the grill of her little mini-cooper automobile, the incident prompted a bystander to proclaim "you killed magic!"  I find this hilarious. My friend urged me to title the painting, "The Death of Magic," but not being in the mood for the melodramatic.... I have chosen the title "Remnants of Flight"


I have also begun work on two other Tiger Swallowtail-inspired paintings:

The iridescent aqua color on each wing is absolutely spectacular. I hope I can accurately capture it, but iridescence is tricky!   Each little aqua speck appearing against the deep velvety black is like a dusting of chipped gemstones.  Will I be able to capture this in paint? Well, I'll try!

Bundles of twigs, horsehair, and bubble wrap = baby bird abode

Ah, winter.

Here are two in the works:

This painting, above, is the larger of the two paintings.  Woven within is actually a bit of bubble wrap amidst all of the pine tree twigs!

This second little nest includes a few strands of horse hair.

Pine needles, horsehair, and a few bits of fuzz make quite the welcoming bed for baby birds I'd say.

Work in progress ~

Here is a new large painting (err... large for me) that I am working on.  This painting measures 24"x30" - I am enjoying pushing myself to work in this larger scale.   Inside the painting, outside of the window, will be a flock of swallows. 

New diptych finally finished!

I have been working on this painting for months and am finally.... finished! Satisfied.  This painting is a diptych, which means that it is actually two paintings that are meant to be hung side by side.

Verdant Morning

oil on canvas (diptych), 20"x40"

click here to see a larger version

This painting and several others are on their way to a possible new gallery tomorrow.  We'll see how it goes!  I'm also working on a few commissions that (hopefully) I will post later this year.

Stages of "Contemplation: Olive Shells"

Above are some photos that I took of "Contemplation: Olive Shells" in progress.  The last one is the finished painting. To find out more information about this particular piece, please click here to visit my website.

New Painting from the Contemplations Series

Contemplation: Anemone

oil on canvas, 8"x10"
SOLD

This painting will sell for $350 at ArtSource Fine Art in Raleigh, NC.   A fantastic gallery, ArtSource has been voted "Best Place to Buy Art" by Metro Magazine, an arts and lifestyle magazine covering NC from the capital to the sea, for the past 5 years!

If you are interested in purchasing, please contact Sarah at ArtSource - sarah@artsourcefineart.com or call 919-787-9533.  This painting is part of my "Contemplations" series of work - small oil paintings that focus on objects from nature.  This anemone was found on Wrightsville Beach, NC.

New Painting from the Contemplations Series

Contemplation: Imperial Moth

oil on canvas, 8"x10"

This painting is of an Imperial Moth that I found on a walk one day.  This painting is currently on its way to ArtSource Fine Art in Raleigh, NC.  It will sell for $350.  If you are interested in purchasing, please contact Sarah Heinsohn of ArtSource at sarah@artsourcefineart.com  or 919-787-9533.  

This moth has appeared in another of my paintings which was a part of my Treasures Series.  I find this nocturnal visitor incredibly beautiful with its golden and brown tones - and it is large too!  

Here is the other painting in which the Imperial Moth appears:

 "O Time, Suspend Your Flight! (Black Swallowtail Butterfly + Imperial Moth)" SOLD

updated - SOLD - New Painting from the Contemplations Series

Contemplation: Olive Shells

oil on canvas, 8"x10"
SOLD

This painting is on its way to ArtSource Fine Art in Raleigh, NC.  www.ArtSource-Raleigh.com

Update - SOLD - New Painting from the Contemplations Series

Contemplation: Blue Jay Feathers

oil on canvas, 8"x10"
SOLD

This painting is on its way to ArtSource Fine Art in Raleigh, NC.  www.ArtSource-Raleigh.com

Trio in the works

With Halloween right around the corner, I think it is fitting that the first of the three I began is going to be of a moth.   Frequent nocturnal visitors, I think moths are a bit under appreciated - then again, people don't like holes in their sweaters!  This moth in my new painting is a gorgeous yellow and brown "Imperial Moth" which I found while taking a walk one afternoon.  It is quite large - at least 3 inches wide - as big as a butterfly.  

The next two paintings are inspired not by the sky, but by the inhabitants in the depths of the ocean.   Two olive shells rest together in one painting, and a lone anemone in another.   In our busy lives where we jump from one subject to the next and where our senses are bombarded in so many ways by advertisements, people, and ACTION, I hope that this series of works will offer a respite from the "busyness" of the everyday. 

Contemplating the "Contemplations"....

I have been thinking about this new series I have been working on.   Inspired by small objects in nature,  I am going to call these small 8"x10" oil paintings my "Contemplations."  I enjoy getting lost in their beautiful details.

Here is the latest finished piece, of a moon snail:

Contemplation: Solitary Moon Snail

oil on canvas, 8"x10"

email info@susannapantas.com

for purchase info

One that is still in progress, of two Blue Jay feathers:

This drawing got me started on the entire new group of paintings:

This pencil drawing of my beloved small nest is only about 5"x5".   I remember drawing it late into the night last winter.   I enjoyed working on it so much that the memory of doing so has spurred me into starting the "Contemplations" paintings.

In Progress... moon snail

I am working on a series of small oil paintings.  "Contemplations" is what I am going to call this series.  The photograph below is an 8"x10" painting of a rather large moon snail shell that I found on Masonboro Island near Wrightsville Beach, NC.  This shell feels so lovely in the palm of my hand!  I will be sure to post the finished painting once it is complete.

Just finished

Contemplation: Small Nest

oil on canvas, 8"x10"

email info@susannapantas.com 

if you are interested in purchasing

update: SOLD

This little oil painting, one of the first of my "Contemplations" series, is a study of the beautiful details that are found in small, unassuming objects.   I found this wonderfully shaped bird's nest, measuring only about 4" in diameter, along a shady path in the mountains in western North Carolina.  It had blown out of a tree. 

News About Gallery Representation

I am pleased to say that my work is now being carried by The Frame Gallery in Winston-Salem.

Frame Gallery

2830 Reynolda Road

Winston-Salem, NC 27106
www.framegalleryws.com

336.724.0904

The owners, Mike and Debbie Shea, are really friendly and knowledgeable.  They currently have 8 of my paintings, so if you are in the area, stop by and say hi!

I also have dropped off one of my largest works to date, the oil painting Tangled Beginnings, at ArtSource Fine Art in Raleigh, NC.   If you are in the capital city, please do stop in and say hello to the wonderful gals (and guy!) at ArtSource.   ArtSource recently expanded their gallery space and almost doubled in size!  Their staff is always cheerful and ready to help.  In fact,  I used ArtSource's own gallery manager, Kate Phillips, as the model for my painting The Zebra Dream!

ArtSource Fine Art

4351-101 The Circle @ North Hills Street

Raleigh, NC 27609

www.artsource-raleigh.com

919.787.9533

PS -  While you're visiting ArtSource - you might want to check out some of the latest works of a dear friend and fellow artist,  Jane Faudree, of Wilmington, NC.   I met Jane while working at Spectrum Art and Jewelry in the coastal town of Wilmington, NC.  Jane loves to paint the landscapes of eastern North Carolina, and here is one of her recent paintings that is currently on display at ArtSource, titled Evening Reflections:

Recent Happenings...

I have been mulling around an idea of a new series. With spring in full force here, I've seen robins on the nest  and waves of floating pollen breezing off the trees in clouds of yellow dust.  An abundance of life.  Lets just say that all of this life will be a main element.  More about my new series as it begins to take shape...

In the meantime, I just finished a painting from my "Moments" series: 

"Daydreams of Flight, Silent Spaces"

oil on canvas, 16"x12"
contact me for purchase info

The "16th Annual Fine Arts League of Cary Juried Exhibition" is right around the corner, with the opening on June 4th at Halle Cultural Center in Apex, NC.   The juror was Linda Fitz-Simmons, head of the art department at Meredith College in Raleigh. I feel so privileged to be have one of my pieces, "Tangled Beginnings," chosen for inclusion. There were 69 pieces selected out of 379 entries - whew!

The Zebra Dream

"The Zebra Dream"

oil on canvas, 12"x16"

My most recent painting is "The Zebra Dream" which I painted for inclusion in ArtSource Fine Art's exhibition "Human Nature: The Figure in Art."  This exhibition explores how different artists interpret the human form and is on display at their North Hills gallery from April 16 - May 10, 2010.   For more information about the gallery, please visit http://www.artsource-raleigh.com/ 

Solitude - Oil on canvas, 10"x10"

above: "Solitude"

oil on canvas, 10"x10"
SOLD

This small oil painting is a study in subtlety.  The empty space, the quiet variations in color on the blouse, the small details of her features and hair all help to create the atmosphere. 

Still Lifes Coming Along

Here is another photo of two works in progress. You can see the changes from photos I took a while back.

"Silent Peace Offering" headed to VAE's "Imagine" show

above: Silent Peace Offering

oil on canvas, 20"x20"

Well, after much internal debate, I have finally decided to submit "Silent Peace Offering" to the Visual Art Exchange's Imagine show, which opens February 5th and runs through February 25th.  The theme of the exhibition is surrealism.

Two Still Lifes in Progress

Coming along.... I am really starting to have fun with these two paintings.  They're oils measuring 20"x20" and I am especially enjoying working on the one with the parakeet in it.  A screen print by artist and friend Kacie Rushton, her print features a parakeet and was made on an antique book page.  She and her fiance, photographer JP Corr III, owned the model - a sweet little budgie named Buster who recently passed away.  Her print is so colorful and his expression so inquisitive - I couldn't stay away from using it in a painting!

My New Website

Finally online! During the last several months of 2009 I undertook the task of building a website from scratch, never having done it before. Whew! What a task. Unexpectedly, it became a pretty satisfying job once I got in the groove.  It is such a relief to have it up and running in the new year.  I will be posting paintings to the site as soon as they are finished, so make sure to bookmark the site, www.SusannaPantas.com, and check back regularly!