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PBS 1976: The Best of Paint Along with Nancy Kominsky – Red Apples
Full lesson – 30 min RT

GOOD NEWS!

The following programs from Paint Along with Nancy Kominsky, which aired on PBS in the 70-80s are

NOW AVAILABLE FOR VIEWING

by clicking the hyper-linked titles below.

The programs are generously being made available through 
AMERICAN ARCHIVE OF PUBLIC BROADCASTING

It would be appreciated if you could email us your
comments on your connection with the content:

SEND EMAIL FEEDBACK

Thanks, mak

Hello and Welcome!

Because of the many requests  to purchase the videos Paint Along with Nancy Kominskyin appreciation to the many dedicated fans and followers of Nancy Kominsky over the many years, it has been decided to offer the US PBS series, at no charge until further notice.

The following programs are being made available by  MetaMEDIA Communications for viewing only and may not be reproduced or repurposed in any form(audio, still image or video) without prior written approval by Michael A. Kominsky.

© Paint Along with Nancy Kominsky
© All rights reserved 1976 – 2021 Michael A Kominsky/MetaMEDIA Communications

Watch as often as you like. Enjoy!

The following  23/26 x 30 min. programs aired on US Public Television in the  70-.80s. To view any of the programs click  the hyperlinked titles below to take you directly to PBS archives for viewing:

If you receive a prompt that you are unable to view the content because your location is outside of the U.S. you may be able view the programs by creating an internet connection via VPN (Virtual Private Network)  by selecting an origination point in the U.S.

After you log on to the VPN. Completely close your browser then initiate the connection in a new browser utilizing the U.S. IP of the VPN.

It is recommended to view full screen by clicking the icon in lower right-hand corner.

1. ANEMONES – View program 30 min
2. BONNY BANKS – View program 30 min
3. STRAWBERRIES – View program 30 min
4. LILACS – View program 30 min
5. NASTURTIUMS View program 30 min.
6. LOW TIDE – View program 30 min.
7. RED APPLES – View program 30 min.
8. RAIN IN PHILADELPHIA – View program 30 min.
9. STILL LIFE WITH VEGETABLE – View program 30 min.
10. WHITE DAISIES – View program 30 min.
11. SNOW IN CENTRAL PARK – View program 30 min.
12. BREAKFAST ANYONE – View program 30 min.
13. SHRUB ROSES – View program 30 min,
14. WINE AND FRUIT – View program 30 min.
15. STILL LIFE WITH FISH – View program 30 min.
16. WIND ON THE MOOR – View program 30 min.
17. GERANIUMS – View program 30 min.
18. POPPIES – View program 30 min.
19. STORM ON THE ADRIATIC – View program 30 min.
20. LAST THREE IN TOTTERDOWN – View program 30 min.
21. SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS – View program 30 min.
22. GRAY DAY ON THE HUDSON – View program 30 min.
23. DAFFODILS ON WINDEMERE – View program 30 min.

Nancy Kominsky 1915 – 2011

NK-PBS_crop-2017_txt

From PBS series

***********************

Nancy Kominsky who died on March 11, 2011 at the age of 95 leaves a legacy of hundreds of aspiring artists who were enthusiastic followers of her televised programmes, Paint Along With Nancy in the 1970s.  She is preceded by her beloved and devoted husband, Patrick Armine Wodehouse(b 1920) on January 29, 2011.

Her series “Paint Along with Nancy” comprised 52 half-hour programmes made by HTV West from 1974 to 1978 and transmitted on ITV in the United Kingdom, and 26 one-half hour programmes were made for PBS in the United States and ran on PBS affiliates into the mid 1980’s.

Nancy Kominsky is also the author of 12 books on painting and pastels, which are no longer in print but are available at various on-line used-book stores.

The programmes went out once a week in the afternoons, and after the first, HTV was receiving such a deluge of fan mail they had to hire several clerks to deal with it. Her oil painting lessons were followed with enthusiasm by housewives, shift workers and school children, many of whom today recall racing home after school to switch on the television set to watch her demonstrate her unusual system of painting with an amusing, unscripted running commentary.

To demystify painting with oils and mixing colours, she used her own kitchen-sink method: “For the background, mix a teaspoonful of orange, half a teaspoon of vermilion and quarter of purple…” and she always finished within 30 minutes with a picture her fans could copy. The series extended over four years and was shown extensively abroad.

No one watching her exuberant showmanship could have guessed at the miserable poverty of her childhood in America during the Great Depression. She was the eldest of five children of Italian immigrant parents, and her father abandoned them all after the Wall Street Crash. With a mentally unstable mother, Nancy, aged 15, took over, earning what she could with odd jobs, often hungry, but always with her sketch book to hand.

After a marriage and divorce, she supported herself and two children by giving painting lessons. Then at the age of 50, having only once ever left the shores of America, she packed her bags and sailed off to Rome to open a studio and teach art. On arrival she saw a notice in the local English-language newspaper of a meeting of what she assumed to be the “Artists Association” and she went in the hope of finding some likely pupils. It turned out to be an Alcoholics Association meeting but she managed to recruit a few pupils, the nucleus of her teaching studio in Rome.

A few years later Patrick Wodehouse, nephew of P G Wodehouse became one of her pupils. They married and had 27 happy years together, living in Wimbledon when they left Rome.

She leaves a son and daughter by her first marriage who live in America.

***********************
~ Memorial Service  –  March 30, 2011 ~
Sacred Heart Catholic Church
London
***********************

Nancy Kominsky – Self-portrait

Obituary from the UK Newspaper The Telegraph – April 03, 2011

Nancy Kominsky’s Facebook page can be commented here:

Nancy Kominsky on Facebook

ACT III – An Elegy: The Final Act of Nancy Kominsky 1915-2011 – a video in You Tube

Music that reflects her love and passion of her art and the joi de vivre of Nancy Kominsky:
From Puccini’s Tosca – Vissi d’ Arte

Download and listen to Vissi d’arte

I lived for my art, I lived for love,
I never did harm to a living soul!
With a secret hand
I relieved as many misfortunes as I knew of.
Always with true faith
my prayer
rose to the holy shrines.
Always with true faith
I gave flowers to the altar…

– March 30, 2011 –

Sacred Heart Catholic Church – Wimbledon, London

Eulogies at the Reqiuem Mass and Celebration of the Life of

Nancy Kominsky Wodehouse

 ***************************

Eulogy by Michael Kominsky delivered by Father Keith McMillan (shortened version for service)

Music has always played a very large part in Nancy’s life.  Growing up, there was always music in the background…usually classical, often opera, with Nancy sometimes joining in as a duet with some of the more lyrical arias, like Vissi d’Arte:

I lived for my art, I lived for love,
I never did harm to a living soul!
With a secret hand I relieved as many misfortunes as I knew of.
Always with true faith my prayer rose to the holy shrines.
Always with true faith I gave flowers to the altar…

Vissi d’Arte from Tosca by Puccini, I believe, captures the essence of Nancy’s life.

Nancy truly lived by the opening libretto.

I lived for my art…I lived for love..
I never did harm to a living soul.

Musicians  and artist have much in common…both require great passion…and almost an obsessive commitment to fulfill one’s potential.  And Nancy was nothing, if not intense about her art. It was not an easy life for Nancy, being an artist. But many times, it was her passion for her art, that sustained her when faced with the many daunting vagaries of her life.  Like many truly committed artists and musicians, she could distract and defuse the difficulty of her personal situation, by burying herself in her art…a painting or, always with sketch pad and pencil, by drawing someone she saw sitting on a park bench.

In many ways Nancy’s life was like one very long lyrical opera…with innumerable twists and turns in the plot…the heroine facing seemingly insurmountable challenges, but somehow in the end, always prevailing. Tosca, but with a much happier ending.

And like most operatic narratives, for Nancy, there were triumphs and defeats. Always with great humility when victorious, always with great grace when not.

But the one common thread through all of Nancy’s trials and tribulations, was her irrepressible faith in a benevolent, loving God and in the Crucifixion and Resurrection of the Christ, which also served as a metaphor for her own life…death and rebirth…countless times.

Always with true faith my prayer
rose to the holy shrines.
Always with true faith
I gave flowers to the altar…

I believe her life to be a powerful parable for the empowerment and rebirth for all women, most especially women who are at mid-life.  And as Nancy would often say, “You’re never too old to start over…”

Nancy was the original, albeit,  accidental feminist…quintessentially feminine, yet fierce in defense of her rights, and those of other women in difficult, often abusive relationships.

Those who knew Nancy well, would also know that she had a flair for Diva Drama in her own life…her large expressive, penetrating clear green eyes, dancing to the rhythm of those animated hands, while passionately telling a story…or just commenting on an article in the morning London Telly about someone’s misfortune.  She was always for the underclass…always remembering where she had came from, and always full of compassion and empathy for the underdog.

I never did harm to a living soul!
With a secret hand I relieved as many misfortunes as I knew of.

And if we were able to ask Nancy, what accomplishments in her life that she was most proud of:

-Would it be the fame and notoriety of being an almost cult television celebrity at mid-life? No.
– Or how about being the author of 12 books on painting and pastels? I think not.

No…I think she would say that the most prized and important part of her life,  was all about the relationships she had formed and nurtured with the many people in her life…her beloved husband Patrick Wodehouse, her many, many devoted friends. Most of which, sadly, she outlived.

Nancy was the most loyal friend one could ever hope to have…she could always find time to listen to her friend’s problems and offer counsel…sometimes unsolicited…often, what needed to be heard, but always in a sensitive, caring and loving way. Nancy’s wisdom was delivered usually in the form of a non-threatening parable, leaven with humor, sprinkled with Nancisms, like…”no need to get UP-Cited dear…it will all work out with the wash”…or  “Just burn that bridge when you get to it, deary…”

Nancy truly loved and prized her many friends too numerous to list here…and she often said to me that she owed all of her success to the kindness and generosity of her many friends, whom she loved and adored.

But I believe that she would be the most proud of her role, as the mother of her two children, whom she unconditionally loved. One of which, as a sickly child, she would spend hours upon hours, caring for, nursing and healing–always with great love and affection.  But the most healing quality of all was that “thousand watt smile” that could light up a room, flashed at will, even under the most trying of circumstances.

Nancy, by the way, was not, thank God, what one would call a traditional Mom.  While most kids grew up awakening to the smell of bacon and eggs sizzling in the skillet, I can recall the distinct pungent aroma of turpentine wafting up my nostrils…yep…she’d be in the kitchen furiously painting, humming and singing away, often from dawn…because that was the only quiet time she could find for her art, which she subordinated to raising her family.

Growing up, her art inflected and I must say infected every aspect of our lives. Painting with one hand, while preparing the starving artist’s staple, tuna casserole with the other…sometimes confusing the two…yielding what I dubbed the Specialty of the House, Tuna Alla Turpentina.

Which takes us to ACT THREE in Nancy’s life…true to form as in most operas, it is the denouement…the climax if you will, to all the trials and tribulations of ACTS ONE and TWO…in the libretto, Tosca passionately laments:

I lived for my art, I LIVED FOR LOVE…

And so it was…on that lovely Saturday afternoon in September, in a private civil ceremony in Wimbledon, with several close friends, Nancy Agneta Kominsky, aged 68 become Nancy Agneta Kominsky Wodehouse, wife of Patrick Armine Wodehouse.  And, I was there to give the beaming bride away.

It was the beginning of a beautiful, almost mythical love story, and a near 28 year honeymoon. Nancy-and-Patrick…usually uttered as one word. Over the years, Patrick and I had become very close. I could not have loved him more if he was my own father.  His kindness and love toward my mother was most exceptional, and yes, inspiring; a beautiful sight to behold.  In the later years he was her primary caregiver…unselfishly taking care of  all of Nancy’s needs, including doing all the cooking, which I think he rather relished, and became quite a creative and proficient chef.

He was witty, a good raconteur, great company, and was totally devoted to Nancy, and she to him. They were an inspiration to others around them, about the power of love and commitment in a relationship…and they sure knew how to throw one heck of a party.

Sadly dear Patrick passed away on January 29, 2011.  Nancy, my dear sweet Mum, would soon follow on March 11, 2011.  Before she passed we had three wonderful weeks together, which I will always be grateful for…reminiscing about my childhood and all the crazy escapades we had shared together. On the last day I spent with her on March 8th, before having to return back home to the States, we said our final goodbye…sadly, she knew it…and I knew it.

I can tell you that she was as fearless facing death, as she was facing the many personal challenges and the myriad of health problems later in her life…her irrepressible faith in God sustained her…facing death…as it did all through her life.

My Mother was, and always will be, my hero…her joi de vivre and lust for life inspired and informed mine…and we shall miss the sound of her laughter, and the joy she took in the simples pleasures of life. Dinner with friends. The simple elegant beauty of nature, and the joy and pride Patrick and Nancy took in their surrounding garden.

We shall never forget Nancy and Patrick…I am grateful for the long and productive lives that they were given, and their peaceful passing, both warmly wrapped in the arms of Morpheus. They are together again…and I’m sure by now, starting to plan their next big, very big, dinner party.

We would very much like to thank everyone for attending Nancy’s Service. Of her many friends and family here today, we would like to especially thank Yvonne Thomas, who collaborated with Nancy in writing her autobiography, “This Is How I Did It: Nancy Kominsky”, which by the way was  a prize-winner in the 17th Annual Writer’s Digest Competition in 2010.

The Committal Service will commence at exactly 11:30 at North East Crematorium, in Surrey. Because of the challenging scheduling at the Crematorium, the service conducted by Father McMillan will be very brief. Attendance of course, is optional. But we would ask that only Father McMillan and members of the immediate family attend.

We offer instead for our guests today, a reception, a celebration of Nancy’s life, here at the Sacred Heart Church Lounge.  Refreshments including, a light bill of fare, pastries, coffee, tea and wine will be served.

Enjoy.  And again, our most profound gratitude for your attendance.

And  so, as Nancy would always end and sign-off her television programs, not  goodbye, but rather…

“Bye for now…”

Sempre con amore…mama mia…sogni d’oro bellissima…

Michael Kominsky, Son
Nancy Kominsky Brent, Daughter

 

 

 

Nancy Kominsky writes her Memoirs

Cover Front and Back of "This Is How I Did It..."

The book won Honorable Mention in the Writer’s Digest Competition

Nancy’s Memoir a Prize Winner

17th Annual Writer’s Digest

Competition!

THIS IS HOW I DID IT: Nancy Kominsky

 

 

 

 

Availabe at:

Barnes and Noble ebook

New LOW Price for Download:

$ 2.99US

Amazon.com ebook

For .epub format compatible ebook readers: Nook, Nook Color, Nook Tablet, Adobe Digital Editions, Kindle Fire .mobi

An intimate self-portrait by the British and American TV personality of the 70s – Paint Along with Nancy Kominsky – 10 years on PBS and ITV UK.

This lively memoir by the artist remembered by millions of fans for her TV programmes Paint Along with Nancy Kominsky, is a spirited HOW-TO…from midlife housewife to household TV personality in one not-so-easy lesson.

Generously sprinkled with laughter, it’s also an inspirational parable for the empowerment of women, of all ages, to have the courage to start over.

(3 pages of BW photos)

NOW AVAILABLE!

 

Hope Artist

DVD available at CreateSpace.com for $19.95USD

A 2:45min. Preview:

 


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Patrick Armine Wodehouse 1920 – 2011

Patrick Armine Wodehouse 1920 – 2011

Please leave your comments about Patrick at the bottom of this post after clicking  “add comments”  button in the upper right. Thank you.

Obituary – The London Telegraph 02 Feb 2011

Patrick Wodehouse - c 1940

Patrick Wodehouse - c 1940

 

Nancy and Patrick 2005

Nancy and Patrick 2005 at their home in London

Patrick Wodehouse, who died on January 29 aged 90, was the only child of PG Wodehouse’s beloved elder brother Armine and his wife Nella.

As Patrick’s parents lived in India, however, he saw them only twice in 13 years of childhood, instead spending school holidays in London with “Uncle Plum”, as he called PG Wodehouse, and his Aunt Ethel.

Patrick Wodehouse They maintained a grand but slightly dotty household, with 10 servants. Patrick was taken for walks in Hyde Park by the butler and to the pictures by Charles, the footman, who wore a green uniform with silver buttons embossed with the family crest. Below stairs he was spoiled by the cook, Mrs Bostock, who made delicious rice pudding stiff with cream. He long remembered lunchtimes, when the entire staff, formally dressed in black, suddenly appeared like pantomime witches through a door concealed in the décor.

Aunt Ethel was the household’s driving force. One day she thought the canary looked grubby, so held it under the warm tap and applied some soap. The bird did not like being washed and turned up its claws. Thinking it dead, Ethel cried as she dried the feathers with a towel, but the bird made a good recovery.

Although he inherited his uncle’s sense of humour, Patrick Wodehouse’s talents lay not in literature but in mathematics and electronics. He entered Imperial College in London to study Electronic Engineering and was on a bicycling holiday in France when war was declared. On his return he volunteered for the RAF but was quickly seconded to work on a secret new technology – radar.

He was born Patrick Armine Wodehouse on March 12 1920 in a military nursing home in west London. His parents left for India when he was still a baby but the climate did not agree with Patrick, so his mother brought him back to Putney and rented a mansion flat with a nanny. After a few years, Nella placed her three-year-old son with foster parents in Bexhill and went back to Poona.

When he was eight Patrick was sent as a junior boarder to Cheltenham College, where he stayed on until he was 18. He cheerfully accepted the almost total absence of his parents from his life as something that happened to boys when their fathers worked abroad in the Empire.

During the war he helped maintain radar stations in the Cocos Islands, Ceylon, India and West Africa, and finally on the Isle of Wight, where he met his future wife, Joy Champion, who was in charge of requisition stores. After the war the RAF funded his return to Imperial College.

He served for 14 years with the Royal Auxiliary Air Force, working for the Ministry of Defence at Castlewood House (his young son thought it was Castle Wodehouse). Then he marketed electronic instruments and worked as a consultant in Cambridge on a project to develop a magnetically-levitated train.

The next 20 years were spent successfully and happily in Rome, working on advanced radar systems for the Tornado and later for the European Space Agency.

After the death of his wife Wodehouse began attending art classes in Rome, where he met and married his art teacher, Nancy Kominsky, who had just finished making a series of popular television programmes in Britain called Paint Along With Nancy. They returned to England in 1994 and lived in Wimbledon.

Wodehouse was a member of the Institution of Electrical Engineers for more than 70 years and was the proud owner of one of the first ham radio licences (call sign G4CA). To make a suitable transmitter he ran a wire from a fishing rod (tied to the chimney on the roof) to a nearby tree. Ever the ingenious engineer, he completed this set-up by making a bow and arrow, attaching the wire and firing it into the tree.

Patrick Wodehouse and Nancy happily accepted any excuse for a party and enjoyed a gregarious life together in Wimbledon with many friends. She survives him, along with a son by his first wife

Wish Nancy a Happy 95th Birthday here…

Happy Birthday Nancy…today, Sept. 24th is her 95th birthday…

Announcing the release of the PBS Paint Along with Nancy Kominsky oil painting series

 

GOOD NEWS!

The following programs from Paint Along with Nancy Kominsky, which aired on PBS in the 70-80s are

NOW AVAILABLE FOR VIEWING

by clicking the hyper-linked titles below.

The programs are generously being made available through 
AMERICAN ARCHIVE OF PUBLIC BROADCASTING

It would be appreciated if you could email us your
comments on your connection with the content:

SEND EMAIL FEEDBACK

Thanks, mak

Hello and Welcome!

Because of the many requests  to purchase the videos Paint Along with Nancy Kominskyin appreciation to the many dedicated fans and followers of Nancy Kominsky over the many years, it has been decided to offer the US PBS series, at no charge until further notice.

The following programs are being made available by  MetaMEDIA Communications for viewing only and may not be reproduced or repurposed in any form(audio, still image or video) without prior written approval by Michael A. Kominsky.

© Paint Along with Nancy Kominsky
© All rights reserved 1976 – 2021 Michael A Kominsky/MetaMEDIA Communications

Watch as often as you like. Enjoy!

The following  23/26 x 30 min. programs aired on US Public Television in the  70-.80s. To view any of the programs click  the hyperlinked titles below to take you directly to PBS archives for viewing:

If you receive a prompt that you are unable to view the content because your location is outside of the U.S. you may be able view the programs by creating an internet connection via VPN (Virtual Private Network)  by selecting an origination point in the U.S.

After you log on to the VPN. Completely close your browser then initiate the connection in a new browser utilizing the U.S. IP of the VPN.

It is recommended to view full screen by clicking the icon in lower right-hand corner.

1. ANEMONES – View program 30 min
2. BONNY BANKS – View program 30 min
3. STRAWBERRIES – View program 30 min
4. LILACS – View program 30 min
5. NASTURTIUMS View program 30 min.
6. LOW TIDE – View program 30 min.
7. RED APPLES – View program 30 min.
8. RAIN IN PHILADELPHIA – View program 30 min.
9. STILL LIFE WITH VEGETABLE – View program 30 min.
10. WHITE DAISIES – View program 30 min.
11. SNOW IN CENTRAL PARK – View program 30 min.
12. BREAKFAST ANYONE – View program 30 min.
13. SHRUB ROSES – View program 30 min,
14. WINE AND FRUIT – View program 30 min.
15. STILL LIFE WITH FISH – View program 30 min.
16. WIND ON THE MOOR – View program 30 min.
17. GERANIUMS – View program 30 min.
18. POPPIES – View program 30 min.
19. STORM ON THE ADRIATIC – View program 30 min.
20. LAST THREE IN TOTTERDOWN – View program 30 min.
21. SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS – View program 30 min.
22. GRAY DAY ON THE HUDSON – View program 30 min.
23. DAFFODILS ON WINDEMERE – View program 30 min.

 

By Popular Demand! Announcing the DVD release of the Paint Along with Nancy Kominsky oil painting series…

By popular demand !!

UPDATE – January 2013:

Sadly, the anticipated level of interest necessary to justify the considerable capital investment of producing the series has not (yet) been realized.
The production of the project will therefore be held in abeyance until further notice.

Sorry for the inconvenience this may have caused.

~mak


Announcing the re-release of the treasured Paint Along with Nancy Kominsky oil painting series as broadcast on PBS from 1975-85. The Galloping Gaugin, the Julia Childs of how-to oil paint, shows you how to complete an entire painting in almost 30 minutes.

20 complete lessons on 10 DVDs(2 per disk). Initially, the first two lessons, to be released on September 15th on the first DVD, available on Amazon.com, with other lessons to follow.

This is your chance to learn how to oil paint, with a dramatic heavy impasto paint applied with a palette knife, as taught only by Nancy to thousands of her students on TV for over 10 years on PBS,

High quality video, digitized and enhanced to a 16:9 HD format, which will play on a standard DVD or Blu-ray at full screen…with NO side “pillars”.

Details to follow. Two full lessons on one DVD at a great introductory price of only $19.95 plus S&H. That’s one hour of instruction which will give you for two beautiful, rich in vibrant color, complete paintings!

Plays in all regions. NTSC video will play on UK PAL DVDs.

For more info contact paintalongwithnancy(at)gmail.com

 

Nancy 2005

  

Nancy and Patrick 2005

Nancy and Patrick 2005 at their home in London

Nancy 2005

Nancy 2005 on her 90th Birthday in London

Nancy 2005

Nancy 2005 on her 90th Birthday in London

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Welcome to Nancy Kominsky's Blog

Nancy Circelli Kominsky (born Emanuella Agneta Circelli, 24 September 1915 – 11 March 2011[1]) was an Italian-American artist and television presenter.

Her series Paint Along with Nancy comprised 52 half-hour programmes made by HTV West from 1974 to 1978 and transmitted on ITV in the United Kingdom, and a further 26 half hour programmes made for PBS in the United States, which ran on PBS affiliates into the mid-1980s.