Nita Engle Painting References

Reference blog for myself for all paintings of the incredible Michigan watercolorist Nita Engle (1925 – 2019). She was a family friend and I want more of her paintings in my house!!! // Main @katco-cereal

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Info Post

This blog is dedicated to the art of American watercolorist Nita Engle!! 🎨🖌🖼

Info about the blog, collected photos of her, and random things I've learned below the cut

I'm doing this for myself but making it public here so anyone else who enjoys her art can find it. I can't find any sort of Nita Engle complete list/database/catalog of all her art, so I'm making one myself!

It's highly likely a lot of her print runs do not actually have the full quantity (usually 950) in circulation. Mill Pond Press, her publisher for many years, closed in December 2014 (I think for financial reasons, but they didn't publicize it) and dumpster'd (possible burned?) all their unsold prints. I'm going to be mad about that forever probably.

Many of her pieces exist only as original artworks and have no copies in circulation.

I'm trying to track both here, but I'm limited to what I can find on the internet or own.

Currently no idea if she kept any of the originals of the pieces she created for Readers Digest in the 60s and 70s, or if those are rotting in a vault somewhere.

I keep all this info in an excel sheet also. If you want to see it just message

Here she is, the lady herself!! There are so few photos of her, so I'm collecting them here for fun whenever I find one

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Misty Gorge Nita Engle (1925-2019) Watercolor

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Wild Rose Cottage Nita Engle (1925-2019) Watercolor, 1993

I’ve always had a great affinity for swamps, and I’ve spent a lot of time making sketches, taking photos and generally gathering research material for future paintings, but I’ve often wondered what it would really be like to live there, to actually have a house by the wilderness marshes. I would wake up in the morning to the profusion of flowers, and in the quiet, many animals would come. I would know where the game trails where. The marshes themselves are full of life and light, and living and painting there would mean opportunities to observe everything on a day-to-day and season-to-season basis. I would know the habits of ducks and turtles, the way of the frog. And I would call the house Wild Rose Cottage. -Nita Engle

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Mirror Pool Nita Engle (1925-2019) Watercolor Printed in American Artist, October 1968

Full article under the cut

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Barn with Sheep Nita Engle (1925-2019) Watercolor

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Ardvrech Castle, Scotland Nita Engle (1925-2019) Watercolor

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After the Rain, Whitby

Nita Engle (1925-2019)

Watercolor

When I was on the scene of After the Rain, Whitby, I remember a sense of elation—the feeling you get when a thunder shower suddenly moves on and everything is refreshed. The clouds lifted, I though, like a veil, a watercolor veil. The whole scene was a watercolor—that unique brightness after a summer rain, the thunder still rumbling in the distance, dramatic value contrasts, strong shapes, the old, wet wharf, and the feeble artificial lights against the tremendous light of the universe. - Nita Engle

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Wild Rose Marsh Nita Engle (1925-2019) Watercolor, 1985

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Mountain Meadow Nita Engle (1925-2019) Watercolor, 1987

Encountering this mountain meadow was like entering a storybook world—the half-remembered world of Heidi and her life in the mountains. I remembered reading of the changing seasons, especially the spring, when great areas of the landscape were carpeted with flowers. Many mountain meadows such as this one were originally lakes that were gradually filled with decayed vegetation during a period of thousands of years. The rich earth and the short, intense growing season produce a wild profusion of brilliantly colored flowers—colors that are not even on my palette. The colors, the jewel-like setting and the fine combination of sun and mist all made this meadow quite a challenge to paint. My early reading, however, made it an irresistible challence. The forces of literature are as lasting as the mountains themselves. If there had not been a Heidi in my past, I may not have had such a response to this mountain meadow. -N. Engle

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Last Light on the Marshes Nita Engle (1925-2019) Watercolor

Last Light on the Marshes was inspired by the swamps and wetlands near where I live. At dusk they have a mysterious quality and, as the sun sets, become a little threatening. The thought of getting lost and having to spend the night there is unsettling; these marshes are trackless and still remain true wilderness areas. Then there are the sounds—I've heard blood curdling cries coming from there as the dark settles in! I wanted this painting to convey some of these emotions, including a bit of menace. - Nita Engle, How to Make Watercolor Paint Itself

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Peaceful Morning — Canadas Nita Engle (1925-2019) Watercolor, 1984

Inaccurate colorings:

This river reminds me of childhood places that have now somehow become a state of mind. I think most children growing up in city or country try to find some private place to be alone—to retreat, to think and dream, to bury treasures or whatever. I had the good fortune to be raised on the edge of a great wilderness area. With forests, streams and lakes to roam, there was an abundance of such solitary places. We all grew up thinking we owned all of it and would become quite indignant about chance encounters with other people in the woods. In such places as this river, because a child engrossed in his own thoughts is likely to be very still, he sometimes is given a bonus. Some wild creature may appear on the scene—a deer coming to drink, or in this case, Canada geese floating quietly into view between the reeds and lily pads. - N. Engle

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Illustration 10 of 10 for Reader’s Digest Condensed Books; Volume 3 Summer 1968: Once Upon an Island Page 109 (1986 Best Sellers pg. 353) Nita Engle (1925-2019) Watercolor, 1968

Internet Archive

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Illustration 9 of 10 for Reader’s Digest Condensed Books; Volume 3 Summer 1968: Once Upon an Island Page 103 (1968 Best Sellers pg. 347) Nita Engle (1925-2019) Watercolor, 1968

Unsure which is closest to original. There were too many factors - paper color, print quality, scan quality, age of paper. A friend and I chose the leading image because:

Has the most variety of colors which makes me feel like it is closest to the original (it has yellows, oranges, blues and greens, where the others seem to have mostly reds and some blues)

The paper-color also looks closest to book-paper

Has the most legible, highest contrast signature

The boat also has the most variety of colors

The light spot in the upper right looks most natural in 1. 3 looks like it has an artificial contrast/saturation boost causing the dot to be much more visible. The lack of visibility in 2 and 4 leads us to think they are low-contrast or undersaturated in some way

Internet Archive

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Illustration 8 of 10 for Reader’s Digest Condensed Books; Volume 3 Summer 1968: Once Upon an Island Page 96 (1968 Best Sellers pg. 340) Nita Engle (1925-2019) Watercolor, 1968

Internet Archive

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Once Upon an Island Illustration 7 of 10 for Reader’s Digest Condensed Books; Volume 3 Summer 1968: Once Upon an Island Page 78 (1968 Best Sellers pg. 321) Nita Engle (1925-2019) Watercolor, 1968

Internet Archive

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Illustration 6 of 10 for Reader’s Digest Condensed Books; Volume 3 Summer 1968: Once Upon an Island Page 67 (1968 Best Sellers pg. 311) Nita Engle (1925-2019) Watercolor, 1968

Internet Archive

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Illustration 5 of 10 for Reader’s Digest Condensed Books; Volume 3 Summer 1968: Once Upon an Island Page 49 (1968 Best Sellers pg. 293) Nita Engle (1925-2019) Watercolor, 1968

Internet Archive