Stealing Magnolias

"Magnolia Memory" 6x6" oil on canvas panel

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The beautiful things of the earth become more dear as they elude pursuit.  — Thomas Hardy, Desperate Remedies

I've never painted a magnolia but recently had a request for a painting of one. The only trouble is I don't have a magnolia tree in my yard.  I thought about sneaking over to my next door neighbor's yard and stealing—er, I mean, uh—borrowing one. ; ) The trouble was I couldn't figure out how in the world I would explain it if I got caught in the middle of the night 20 feet off the ground in my pajamas." However, my friend Patty came to the rescue and gave me one from her tree. The blossom was pristine and in a tight bud, but by the time I got it home— to my utter amazement—it had completely opened. Wow! Things do grow fast around here! I shot some quick reference photos and was glad I did. The next day the beautiful white bloom had turned completely brown and left in its wake only a magnolia memory. 

Thanks for stopping by for a spell to sniff my magnolia. 

nancy

 

To view all of my available paintings in my gallery click here http://www.dailypaintworks.com/Artists/nancy-parsons-122  * Sold pieces are marked with a red dot.
My blog: www.headondownthehighway.blogspot.com

E-mail: njparsons@suddenlink.net

My books:  NEW 2012 Daily Planner and Head on Down the Highway A Blog Book

My graphic design business: www.graphicdesigngroup.net

Shady Characters

"Shady Characters" 6x6" oil on gessobord

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One of the coolest things about summer—an oxymoron in Texas—are the deep cool shadows and dappled light filtering through the leaves. I could sit and watch this light show for hours. 

We have five huge-old-oak trees hovering above our yard spending their days lazily cascading shards of light into silent flickers of colored shapes that dance across my tiny islands of grass and gardens. Their countless wash of winks, mottle the breadth of towering orange canas, coral winding trumpet vines, spikes of scarlet and blue salvia, rose-colored oleanders, a row of pastel-tinted crape myrtles, fiery lantana, white butterfly gingers and powdery puffs of pink hydrangea...the magical oaks taking special delight in waking blushing four o'clocks from their slumber; speckling the wings of oblivious birds splashing in the garden baths.

I caught these two shady Adirondack characters red handed hanging out around the pool, sitting on violet stippled decking looking oh, so innocent! They were trying their best to lure me away from my work. But I knew they were up to no good and not to be trusted, one quick repose and they've got you and won't let you go for hours on end...especially if you happen to have a great book in your hand. 

Thanks for resting here awhile and viewing my work.

nancy

 

To view all of my available paintings in my gallery click here http://www.dailypaintworks.com/Artists/nancy-parsons-122  * Sold pieces are marked with a red dot.

My blog: www.headondownthehighway.blogspot.com

E-mail: njparsons@suddenlink.net

My books:  NEW 2012 Daily Planner and Head on Down the Highway A Blog Book

My graphic design business: www.graphicdesigngroup.net

River Walk San Antonio

"River Walk San Antonio" 8x16" Oil on stretched canvas

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 "As a river flows through a landscape it carries with it the memory and life of that place. It has flowed through every moment of life that has happened there." 
                            — John O'Donohue, Four Elements- Reflection on Nature.

This colorful scene found along The River Walk in San Antonio, bustles with sidewalk cafes, restaurants, shops and galleries. The river, a popular tourist attraction, flows right through the middle of town, passing the site where The Alamo still stands. 

In Texas, water has been a lifeline for many generations for centuries past. First described by Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca, a shipwrecked captive of Indians, in 1536. The stream originally called Yanaguana was renamed San Antonio in celebration of Saint Anthony's Day in 1691.

While the river canals stretch for two and a half miles, it was quite a stretch for me to paint this one section. I had photographed it on a recent visit but had been too intimidated to even pick up a brush. There was so much going on with water, trees, architecture, people, reflections. Whew, I was overwhelmed before I began. Luckily this photo didn't also include one of the many passing and packed tour boats that methodically cruise the narrow waters. 

Thank you for floating by and viewing my painting. 
nancy

 

 

To view all of my available paintings in my gallery click here http://www.dailypaintworks.com/Artists/nancy-parsons-122  * Sold pieces are marked with a red dot.

My blog: www.headondownthehighway.blogspot.com

E-mail: njparsons@suddenlink.net

My books:  NEW 2012 Daily Planner and Head on Down the Highway A Blog Book

My graphic design business: www.graphicdesigngroup.net

Refiner's Fire

"Refiner's Fire" 3x5 ft., oil on stretched canvas

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“I don't know anyone who actually likes the dark or night-time. I don't care how much they say it doesn't bother them. That's why we used to huddle in caves and light fires when the sun went down."  — Paul Kane

One of the four elements, fire has played a key role in our lives since the beginning of time. It can arise from the coldest and blackest matter. Fire defies gravity and is the force that cleanses —like gold in a furnace—burning away what is no longer needed.
 
In his book, The Four Elements, John O'Donohue writes, "The fire was dancing. It was full of all kinds of liquid fire shapes. The fire is transfiguration. Here matter changes into nothingness. The fire is the place where form is sacrificed to breath."

Fire brings light and warmth when it's in a fireplace. "Its energy, color and shape are a narrative in themselves that unfurls side by side with the flow of your own consciousness."

This very large 5x3 ft. painting ignited in the hearth of my own heart. I actually painted it awhile back but know that the transforming fire has never rested as it continuously blasts away at the dark corners of my mind and soul.

Thanks for viewing my work.

nancy

 

To view all of my available paintings in my gallery click here http://www.dailypaintworks.com/Artists/nancy-parsons-122  * Sold pieces are marked with a red dot.

My blog: www.headondownthehighway.blogspot.com

E-mail: njparsons@suddenlink.net

My books:  NEW 2012 Daily Planner and Head on Down the Highway A Blog Book

My graphic design business: www.graphicdesigngroup.net

Gardenia Gratitude

"Gardenia Gratitude" 6x6" oil on canvas board

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“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” — Albert Einstein

Right on cue "April showers brought May flowers." My three gardenia bushes are literally loaded down with budding hopefuls. This one was the first to wipe the dew from her eyes, and unfurl intricate tiers of snowy-white petticoats. Once this floral symphony begins, the alluring bouquet will waft on waves of silent fragrance to fill all my senses. 

This flower always takes me back to the memory of my first corsage, which was also a gardenia. It was the most beautiful flower those 15-year-old eyes had ever seen. I was totally mystified how such a delicate... and seemingly... exotic flower could be alive in the dead of cold winter. Today, I am graced with a hundred of them every spring. Abundance is everywhere!

Thanks for visiting my blossoming blog.

nancy

 

To view all of my available paintings in my gallery click here http://www.dailypaintworks.com/Artists/nancy-parsons-122  * Sold pieces are marked with a red dot.

My blog: www.headondownthehighway.blogspot.com

E-mail: njparsons@suddenlink.net

My books:  NEW 2012 Daily Planner and Head on Down the Highway A Blog Book

My graphic design business: www.graphicdesigngroup.net

Puttin' on the Ritz

"Puttin' on the Ritz", 6x6" oil on gessobord

"Why not seize the pleasure at once? How often is happiness destroyed by preparation. Foolish preparation?" — Jane Austen

 

If the hat fits wear it ... but if it doesn't fit wear it anyway! Meet Juliet our youngest almost-three-year-old granddaughter caught on camera as she delights in playing dress up in a huge green hat and blue satin slippers. Painting children is really a challenge, however it does seem to capture Juliet's joyful and playful little spirit in the moment.

Why is it when we are little we can't wait to grow up, and then once we're grown we want to go back? The grass always seems greener everywhere except where we happen to be. Perhaps the secret is to learn to water the grass where we are, and see what interesting things spring up. Or... as an alternative to watering... put up a bird feeder in your backyard and never know what the heck it is that's sprouting up all over your grass. I can personally guarantee that spot of your yard will be greener. 

BTW, speaking of seizing the moment, Dave and I are going to hit the road again in our pop-up camper this summer. We're planning to head for mountains and rivers to fly fish and paint somewhere out west. Yee-ha! I've been itching to paint more landscapes in plein air. I guess I'm still looking for greener pastures?

Thanks for trying on my blog... carpe diem! (translated from Latin, seize the day)
nancy

 

To view all of my available paintings in my gallery click here http://www.dailypaintworks.com/Artists/nancy-parsons-122  * Sold pieces are marked with a red dot.

My blog: www.headondownthehighway.blogspot.com

E-mail: njparsons@suddenlink.net

My books:  NEW 2012 Daily Planner and Head on Down the Highway A Blog Book

My graphic design business: www.graphicdesigngroup.net

The Eligible Bachelor

" Eligible Bachelor" 6x6" oil on canvas board,
Towhee was painted from photo by Angela Fletcher

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"Be like the bird in flight . . . pausing a while on boughs too slight, feels them give way beneath her, yet sings knowing yet, that she has wings." — Victor Marie Hugo



This little guy is a Spotted Towhee, a striking sparrow of sun-baked thickets of the west. His warm rufous flanks match the dry leaves that he spends his time hopping around in. When trying to attract a mate this bright little bird will sit in the branches of a tree and sing away 70-90 percent of his morning. Once he finds a mate —the honeymoon is over—he is off doing more important things and only sings about 5 percent of his morning. Now isn't that just like a male! ; ) 

Thanks for lingering on my branch. 
nancy

 

To view all of my available paintings in my gallery click here http://www.dailypaintworks.com/Artists/nancy-parsons-122  * Sold pieces are marked with a red dot.

My blog: www.headondownthehighway.blogspot.com

E-mail: njparsons@suddenlink.net

My books:  NEW 2012 Daily Planner and Head on Down the Highway A Blog Book

My graphic design business: www.graphicdesigngroup.net

West Texas Landscape

"West Texas Landscape" 6x6" oil on canvas board

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"I must say as to what I have seen of Texas, it is the garden spot of the world, the best land and the best prospects for health I ever saw, and I do believe it is a fortune to any man to come here."

— Alamo hero, Davey Crockett

"We're not in Kansas, To-To." This painting was taken from a photo I snapped from our 2010 camping trip. We had just crossed back across the state line into the Texas Panhandle when we happened upon these huge gleaming silos. "Tin Man" eat your heart out! These structures jutted out against the barren flat plains like penguins in Africa. "Oil can"... my brain's a little rusty but I think this may be part of a grain elevator?  Irregardless of what they really are, these metallic sculptures could have been the entrance into Silver City.

 

Humm Dorothy.... I didn't get the connection while painting, but now I understand why I felt the need to make the sky dark and funnel threatening. Funny how our subconscious minds work.

Thanks for dropping in to view my U.S.O. (unidentified stationary objects).  

nancy

To view all of my available paintings in my gallery click here http://www.dailypaintworks.com/Artists/nancy-parsons-122  * Sold pieces are marked with a red dot. 

My blog: www.headondownthehighway.blogspot.com

E-mail: njparsons@suddenlink.net

My books:  NEW 2012 Daily Planner and Head on Down the Highway A Blog Book

My graphic design business: www.graphicdesigngroup.net

Road Less Traveled

"Road Less Traveled" 6x6" oil on canvas panel, inspired by the photo "Curve in the Road" by: Angela Fletcher

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"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference."

— Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken

   

I have to say this has been the story of my life, although not always by choice. Somehow I just never could find the path of least resistance. Life has not been easy but discovering all of the not-so-ordinary along the way has made my travels profoundly rich in experience. 

There is an old Zen saying, "To a man who knows nothing, Mountains are Mountains, Waters are Waters and Trees are Trees. But when he has studied and knows a little, Mountains are no longer Mountains, Water is no longer Water, Trees no longer Trees. But when he has thoroughly understood, Mountains again are Mountains, Waters are Waters and Trees are Trees." 

As an artist my personal goal is to grow in my capacity for perception of nature's inexhaustible supply. I hope that never changes and that this road goes on forever.

Thanks for joining in my journey today and for viewing my painting. 

nancy

To view all of my available paintings in my gallery click here http://www.dailypaintworks.com/Artists/nancy-parsons-122  * Sold pieces are marked with a red dot.

My blog: www.headondownthehighway.blogspot.com

E-mail: njparsons@suddenlink.net

My books:  NEW 2012 Daily Planner and Head on Down the Highway A Blog Book

My graphic design business: www.graphicdesigngroup.net

Making Tracks

"Making Tracks" 6x6" oil on canvas panel 

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“Time goes faster the more hollow it is. Lives with no meaning go straight past you, like trains that don’t stop at your station.” ― Carlos Ruiz Zafón, The Shadow of the Wind

 

We had stopped for gas in a little town outside of San Antonio. The late afternoon sun seemed to be dripping warm golden honey all across the landscape. I snapped a photo of a train passing by on the rickety tracks that stretched all the way to the focal point looming on the horizon. This is where all lines in perspective converge. This train is hardly empty, sea-land containers stacked one a top the other, no doubt loaded full of all the stuff we import, most likely from China or Indonesia.


"Art is the outward expression of the inner life of the artist and this inner life will result in his personal vision of the world." — Edward Hopper

Trains always appear alone and haunting to me, as they race against the clock, huffing and puffing to arrive somewhere in the end on time. Our lives are like trains, we tug and pull all our linked cars packed full of the physical and emotional baggage accumulated over a life time. Clickety-clack we race along on our own set of tracks, under deadlines and pressures, slowing down now and again to add more cars to the heavy load. All aboard! Clickety-clack, clickety-clack, clickety-clack.

I could see in my mind how I wanted this painting to come out and was really happy with the resulting mood and color. 

Thanks for boarding today and stopping long enough to view my painting. 
 

nancy

 

To view all of my available paintings in my gallery click here http://www.dailypaintworks.com/Artists/nancy-parsons-122  
* Sold pieces are marked with a red dot.

My blog: www.headondownthehighway.blogspot.com

E-mail: njparsons@suddenlink.net

My books:  NEW 2012 Daily Planner and Head on Down the Highway A Blog Book

My graphic design business: www.graphicdesigngroup.net

"Seeing Summer" 6x6" Oil on Canvas Panel 

Click to Purchase this painting

Summer is knocking at my door with color! I've been noticing the Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds are back from their winter migration in Mexico and South America. They're lapping up sugar water at my feeder like it's nectar from the gods. 

Hummingbirds along with the sight of zinnias, found at my local nursery, puts me on high alert that summer's right around the corner. When I see zinnias I always think back to my childhood and memories of my grandmother's yard. She had a huge garden filled with these sun loving performers. Hot summer days at her house always included running through her sprinkler, filling up the bird bath, sucking on ice cubes made from Kool Aid, and picking zinnia's for an awaiting vase. 

Did you know that zinnias are a part of the daisy family? Zinnias can be found in a wide assortment of colors and all with meaning. For instance the magenta zinnia denotes "lasting affection", orange "constancy", white means "goodness", yellow "daily remembrance", and according to my sources, a mixture of zinnias—like the ones I have planted on my patio and in this painting—implies "thinking of the absence of a friend."

Thanks for memories and for viewing my painting. To view all of my available paintings in my gallery click here http://www.dailypaintworks.com/Artists/nancy-parsons-122  
* Sold pieces are marked with a red dot. 

nancy

My blog: www.headondownthehighway.blogspot.com

E-mail: njparsons@suddenlink.net

My books:  NEW 2012 Daily Planner and Head on Down the Highway A Blog Book

My graphic design business: www.graphicdesigngroup.net

Softly Silent

"Softly Silent" 6x6" oil on canvas panel

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"In silence we must wrap much of our life

because it is too fine for speech."

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

Silence really is golden! Unless I am in the company of others, or stop to answer my phone, or slow down occasionally to watch a movie, I live every day—all day—in treasured silence. Call me weird, but it's the only place I feel as if I can actually hear! It's in that inaudible space of silent interior whispers, where imagination and creativity succeed in coaxing beauty out from her place of hiding. It's a place mostly overlooked by us, too distracted to hear.

Over the weekend, I was strolling along the tourist-filled Riverwalk in San Antonio where I met a beguiling and towering maiden. She was wading on the water's edge, adorned in delicate white chiffon-like blossoms, that swayed gently to the tune of morning's murmurings.

I stood there mesmerized at the sight of her slender graceful boughs which shimmered above mirrored reflections of crisscrossing leaves and limbs, dividing landscape and firmament into silky mosaic patterns with watercolor edges. Now that was a rock concert!

Thank you for listening and viewing my painting. 

nancy

My blog: www.headondownthehighway.blogspot.com

E-mail: njparsons@suddenlink.net

My books:  NEW 2012 Daily Planner and Head on Down the Highway A Blog Book

My graphic design business: www.graphicdesigngroup.net

Winging It

"Winging It" 6x6" oil on canvas panel

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I read an interesting article recently about the life cycles of monarch butterflies, and suddenly realized that the gorgeous red and yellow flowers growing right outside in my sunny garden were butterflyweed, mentioned in the article as perfect habitat for attracting butterflies on their returning migration from Mexico. My clustered perennials, literally bursting with nectar-filled flowers, were especially lush this year due to the mild winter here in Texas. I jumped up grabbed my camera— ignoring the fact that I was still in my pjs — and bolted out the backdoor in search of local diners in my open-for-business cafe.

To my total delight, I quickly spotted over 25 plump caterpillars — easily distinguishable by colorful yellow and black bands — munching down on the spiked leaves. They were in a fury, rabidly chewing their way across leaves in perfect unison as if it were corn-on-the-cob and making perfect returns like those of a precise typist at the end of a row. Here's a photo of a couple of the parasites wearing their striped pajamas.

I began inspecting my creeping crop of crawlers daily but never could find a single jade chrysalis. However here are a couple photos of the transformation process.

Over the past week, I have been noticing lots of newly emerging monarchs fluttering about from their empty tombs, warming their glorified newly found wings in the sun. My beautiful butterflyweed is gone, stripped bare of all leaves and flowers, but it was more than worth the offering. 

Thank you for landing here today! I hope you enjoy the painting and my science fair project! : ) 

nancy

My blog: www.headondownthehighway.blogspot.com

E-mail: njparsons@suddenlink.net

My books:  NEW 2012 Daily Planner and Head on Down the Highway A Blog Book

My graphic design business: www.graphicdesigngroup.net

Three-lips

"Three-lips, 6x6" oil on canvas panel

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"When my arms wrap you round I press

My heart upon the loveliness 

That has long faded from the world."

—Yeats

While picking up ingredients for the Easter dinner I was preparing for our family of 20, I decided to purchase some flowers for a centerpiece. I was on a tight budget, but discovered some very ripe pink tulips, crammed into the overflowing slashed-price bucket, stuck against the back wall at Kroger for $2.99 a dozen. They were hidden from view by the more marketable, young buds with firm tight lips who were much richer and vibrant in color then these paling rejects.

Although my mid-life beauties were a bit faded and sagged a little with mouths agape, I decided they were perfect! After all, Eleanor Roosevelt said, "Beautiful young people are accidents of nature, but beautiful old people are works of art." Now, I am sure she would agree this truth applies to flowers as well.

Unfortunately this bunch was catty and rude, whispering secrets to each other behind my back. These three-lips lasted just long enough for me to finish the dishes and paint them before they took their final bow and were tossed into the trash can. 
Thanks for "tip toe(ing) through my tulips" today!
nancy

My blog: www.headondownthehighway.blogspot.com

E-mail: njparsons@suddenlink.net

My books:  NEW 2012 Daily Planner and Head on Down the Highway A Blog Book

My graphic design business: www.graphicdesigngroup.net

Shedding Light

"Shedding Light" 6x6" oil on canvas panel

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The scene reminds me of a song from my childhood that goes, "In a cottage by the wood, little man at the window stood, saw a rabbit hopping by knocking at my door. Help me! Help me! Help me, he cried! Lest the hunter shoot me dead. Little rabbit come inside, safely you'll abide."

Shedding a little light on the subject, this shed engulfed in the warm rays of morning light, seems pretty glorious to me, especially the day after Easter. However, now that I think about it, I don't really see a window, a little man, or for that matter even a rabbit? Actually, now that I am look closer, I am not sure if it's a shed after all? Heaven forbid! It may very well be an outhouse? Oh well, I just see what I feel is there. 

"Imagination is the eye for the inner world...When our eyes are graced with wonder, the world reveals its wonders to us." "When the imagination awakens, the inner world illuminates. We begin to glimpse things that no-one speaks about, that the outer world seems to ignore." —John O'Donohue, The Invisible Embrace Beauty

Thank you for viewing my shed with the red roof with or without the rabbit.
nancy

My blog: www.headondownthehighway.blogspot.com

E-mail: njparsons@suddenlink.net

My books:  NEW 2012 Daily Planner and Head on Down the Highway A Blog Book

My graphic design business: www.graphicdesigngroup.net

Iris With Laughing Eyes

"Iris With Laughing Eyes" 6x6" oil on canvas panel

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Look familiar? It's another chorus of the same song. I wanted to try the iris from last week again but more abstracted. I started off with a very dark under painting rather than the usual red tint that I customarily use. Instead of painting wet into wet, this time I let the under painting dry completely, and then went back in with all of the other colors which popped against the dark background. This approach kept my colors cleaner without picking up any of the background color. I left some of the dark to peek through. I can imagine this as a stain glass window. I really like the way it worked out. 

Early bird catches the worm! I have decided not to use the auction style to sell my paintings for right now, so if you'd like to purchase, simply click on the link to pay with a credit card.

Thanks for viewing my purple model in her new get up!

nancy

My blog: www.headondownthehighway.blogspot.com

E-mail: njparsons@suddenlink.net

My books:  NEW 2012 Daily Planner and Head on Down the Highway A Blog Book

My graphic design business: www.graphicdesigngroup.net

Iris Eyes Are Smiling

"Iris Eyes Are Smiling" 6x6" oil on canvas panel 

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When Iris eyes are smiling,
Sure, 'tis like the morn in Spring....
When Iris hearts are happy,
All the world seems bright and gay.
 

Sorry, I just couldn't resist the play on words here. This stunning iris—found resting in the early morning shade beside still waters—was painted from another inspiring photo by eagle-eye Angela. 

Symbolically the iris is associated with faith, wisdom, cherished friendship, hope, valor, my compliments, promise in love and wisdom. Irises were used in Mary gardens as the blade-shaped foliage denotes the sorrows which pierced her heart.

The color purple is a perfect balance of warm red and the calm of blue. In fact, my very astute little niece recently told her mom that "purple was hot and cold." Pretty insightful for a three year old. 

According to squidoo.com, purple embodies a sense of mystic and royal qualities, often well liked by very creative or eccentric types, and the favorite color of adolescent girls. Mentally and physically, purple is uplifting, calming to mind and nerves, offers a sense of spirituality and encourages creativity. So do you think if people thew away their antidepressants and started wearing purple they'd be smarter, feel better, start attending church on a regular basis, and want to paint or take up piano? Hmmm...sounds like a great Jr. high science fair project.

Thanks for strolling into the garden today!

nancy

My blog: www.headondownthehighway.blogspot.com

E-mail: njparsons@suddenlink.net

My books  NEW 2012 Daily Planner and Head on Down the Highway A Blog Book

My graphic design: www.graphicdesigngroup.net

The Bare Facts

"The Bare Facts" 6x6" Oil on canvas panel

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"Simplicity and repose are the qualities that measure the true value of any work of art."

- Frank Lloyd Wright, Architect, designed the Guggenheim

The object of this week's DPW Challenge was to paint an apple using the "smallest amount of information possible" and stopping, not when it is finished but rather as soon as the painting reads as a three-dimensional apple. It certainly requires discipline to limited strokes, the number of colors, and the number of areas of color.

For this red and green painting, I limited my palette to lemon yellow, cadmium red, alizarin crimson, phthalo blue, and just a dot of white for the highlight. I love painting quick, loose and wet into wet, so this was a really fun challenge. The painting ended up with sort of a watercolor feel. My favorite part is the area of green at the top of the apple just where it disappears and merges with the background. Edges should be both hard and soft, I like the loose edge of deep red on the shadow side of the apple. The cast shadow picks up the reflections of the green background and just a touch of the apple's blush peeking through the cool shadow. The hardest part of this exercise is stopping yourself from going back over a stroke twice. That's where the paint dies and looses its freshness.

I believe that less is always more. Leaving parts of a painting seemingly unfinished, beckons and engages the viewer to enter a painting and fill in the blanks for themselves. I'll be repeating this exercise again and again, to learn to simplify further.

Thanks for bobbing in today!

nancy

My blog: www.headondownthehighway.blogspot.com

E-mail: njparsons@suddenlink.net

My books  NEW 2012 Daily Planner and Head on Down the Highway A Blog Book

My graphic design: www.graphicdesigngroup.net

Loves Me, Loves Me Not

"Loves Me, Loves Me Not" 6x6" oil on canvas panel

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"You can cut all the flowers but you cannot keep spring from coming." 

—Pablo Neruda

We had a couple to dinner over the weekend; my centerpiece was this old vase beaming with yellow pom daisies. I figured I better paint them quickly before more petals decided to take their final bow.

Author John O'Donohue said, "A room that is yellow can throw a glad brightness back into the space it surrounds." I love the freshness of this color, as most of the walls of my house are painted a soft tint of yellow. However during our dinner, between the glow of candle light, the yellow walls and the brilliance of the daisies, my dining room was literally bursting with such luminosity, you practically needed sunglasses! In fact, the vibrations were so intense, my demure purple vase was totally blown over from the blinding rays, as the grapes huddled together sheltering their faces in the shadows.

Thanks for ringing round my pitcher full of posies today!

nancy

My blog: www.headondownthehighway.blogspot.com

E-mail: njparsons@suddenlink.net

My books  NEW 2012 Daily Planner and Head on Down the Highway A Blog Book

My graphic design: www.graphicdesigngroup.net

Mini Munchkin

Mini Munchkin, 6x6" Oil on canvas

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With spring in the air, instead of painting last weekend, I spent all day Saturday working in my yard. My yard is looking so much happier, but the downside is I didn't have any paintings to post. I worked on a landscape for several hours on Sunday and had it just about completed, but then decided I didn't like it and wiped my canvas clean and started on this nude instead.

I have been wanting to practice painting skin tones but didn't have a model. Flesh is a grizzly bear for me to paint, so I figured this would be a great exercise. I found this tiny rubber baby which is actually a to-scale model of a 12-week-old fetus and held it in my left hand while painting with my right. Not exactly easy, but the baby fit so perfect in my palm and looked sweet all snuggled up in the cradle of my hand.

I need lots more practice on skin tones but every time I try, I am learning something new. Slowly but surely with lots more practice, I hope to keep improving day by day.

Thanks for letting me bare my soul today!

nancy

My blog: www.headondownthehighway.blogspot.com

E-mail: njparsons@suddenlink.net

My books  NEW 2012 Daily Planner and Head on Down the Highway A Blog Book

My graphic design: www.graphicdesigngroup.net

Birdie? What birdie?

"Mr. Bean", 6x6" oil on canvas panel
(painted from photograph by Angela)

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This is Mr. Bean, Angela's cat, all stretched out like some fat satiated king resting on pillows by a sunny window after an overindulgent meal. Hmm... I'll bet he's been up to no good? He is looking suspiciously contented, like he just got away with stealing cookies from a cookie jar. "Pussycat, pussycat where have you been?" Frightening a little mouse under her chair perhaps... or maybe a little Tweety bird or two? I inspected the scene for telltale signs of perhaps the tiny tip of a tail, or a wisp of feather at the corners of his mouth but efficiently, all incriminating evidence had been destroyed and licked clean. Pretty sneaky, Mr. Bean.

This was a fun one to paint. My favorite part is that one little red-orange spot of color on his tongue. The light was hitting it just right making it glow with transparency.

Thanks for resting here awhile... Meow!

nancy

My blog: www.headondownthehighway.blogspot.com

E-mail: njparsons@suddenlink.net

My books  NEW 2012 Daily Planner and Head on Down the Highway A Blog Book

My graphic design: www.graphicdesigngroup.net

In the Red

"In the Red", 6x6" oil on canvas panel

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No, this painting isn't about negative finances. It's about, red, one of my favorite colors to paint with. It's a color that really knows how to scream out loud. Red has the ability to conjure up a wide range of emotions from passionate love to violence and warfare. Red is the color of blood, energy, danger and fire, also known to stimulate and increase blood pressure, respiration, heartbeat, and pulse rate. In China, red is associated with good luck and fortune and in Singapore it symbolizes joy. It is the highest arc of the rainbow, the longest wavelength of light, and the first color you lose sight of at twilight.

According to "The Language of Stained Glass" at Armstrong Browing Library at Baylor University: When Dante spoke of the Seraphim - the first of the nine choirs of Angels - the color that "glows" was the pure orange vermilion which his fellow citizens and brothers-in-spirit (the painters, illuminators, and glassmen) knew as red. So, it may be said that pure red is the color of divine love, the Holy Spirit, courage, self-sacrifice, martyrdom, and all the warm impulses that belong to the great-hearted everywhere.  You can read more about red here.

So what does this rather strange combination of apple, radishes and Flowering Quince (Japonica) have in common? You guessed it...the color RED! Oh, how I do love red, the warmest of all colors.

Thanks for looking through rose colored glasses with me today. : )

nancy

My blog: www.headondownthehighway.blogspot.com

E-mail: njparsons@suddenlink.net

My books  NEW 2012 Daily Planner and Head on Down the Highway A Blog Book

My graphic design: www.graphicdesigngroup.net

Relentless Desire

"Relentless Desire"(painted from a photograph by Angela Fletcher)
6x6" oil on canvas

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Green is the color of relentless desire denoting growth and new hope, bursting forth, at first, with soft lime whispers of spring energy. John O'Donohue in his book The Invisible Embrace Beauty says, "Gravity cannot hold it down; the call of light is always stronger." The power and will to survive, as witnessed in tender first grasses and plants, find a way to emerge through even the tiniest crevices in concrete. Miracles emerge out of the cold, dark emptiness of winter's tomb, bursting forth in triumphant birth into the light of life. The glory of spring has come again. 

Thanks for viewing my painting.

nancy

My blog: www.headondownthehighway.blogspot.com

E-mail: njparsons@suddenlink.net

My books  NEW 2012 Daily Planner and Head on Down the Highway A Blog Book

My graphic design: www.graphicdesigngroup.net

Pond-ering Thoreau

"Pond-ering Thoreau" 8x10" Oil on gessobord

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"A lake is the landscape's most beautiful and expressive feature. It is Earth's eye; looking into which the beholder measures the depth of his own nature." - 9. The Ponds, Walden, Henry David Thoreau

Did you think you were looking at this upside down? This abstract landscape was painted from another one of my friend Angela's inspiring photos, capturing looking glass reflections of aqua sky and surrounding forest. Sparkling on the silent stillness of another "Walden's" pond, the aqueous pool was dotted with a flotilla of lily pads, all set a sail in the early morning chill. A bare low-lying branch with willowy outstretched arms, hovers just above half submerged logs breaking the water's surface, and forming bridges for sun loving turtles.

And where was Monet for all this?

Thanks for pausing and reflecting on my work today.

nancy

My blog: www.headondownthehighway.blogspot.com

E-mail: njparsons@suddenlink.net

My books  NEW 2012 Daily Planner and Head on Down the Highway A Blog Book

My graphic design: www.graphicdesigngroup.net

Cana Carnival

"Cana Carnival" 5x7" oil on canvas panel

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Spring in the air! My bright fuchsia-colored azaleas are in full bloom and robins have returned on the waves of warm afternoon temps in the high seventies in this part of Texas. Meanwhile, I've been on high-visual alert for signs of resurrected friends donning billowy bonnets for my garden spring follies.

I actually painted this flamboyant redheaded Cana Lily, sometime ago. She was doing a high-kick can-can like she was expecting Toulouse-Lautrec himself to show up to paint her portrait. I have to admit, she is pretty cute even in the abstract.

 

Thanks for buzzing around my world of color. ; )

nancy

My blog: www.headondownthehighway.blogspot.com

E-mail: njparsons@suddenlink.net

My books  NEW 2012 Daily Planner and Head on Down the Highway A Blog Book

My graphic design: www.graphicdesigngroup.net

Just Horsing Around

"Just Horsing Around" 10x8" Oil on gessobord

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I was really jazzed to enter this weeks DPW Challenge, since I have never painted a horse before. Guess I've just never had the opportunity to photograph one in the wild. I have included above, the photograph we were asked to paint for the challenge.

I think I enjoyed painting the grass as much as the horse. I tried to break the grass up into an interesting pattern, and was happy with the mosaic, patchwork-look that emerged. My personal challenge is to always try to keep my brush strokes as loose as possible. I had been working on a large commissioned piece that had to be rendered very tightly, so this was a welcome change of pace for this old mare now free to roam in new pastures. 

Thanks for stopping to graze awhile in my pasture. ; )

nancy

My blog: www.headondownthehighway.blogspot.com

E-mail: njparsons@suddenlink.net

My books  NEW 2012 Daily Planner and Head on Down the Highway A Blog Book

My graphic design: www.graphicdesigngroup.net

Outside the Lines

"Outside the Lines" 6x6" oil on gessobord

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Lost in a creative world all her own, Annie gets in touch with her inner artist. I painted this from a photo of my niece as she blissfully included most of her arm as part of her extended canvas. Children are so naturally uninhibited and unaware of boundaries including those thick black lines of coloring books that we were so terrified to cross outside of as children. Who decided that we had to stay within those lines anyway? I think most people got discouraged and gave up on art once the guidelines were imposed on us. We were even graded as to how perfectly we could stay inside the lines. Or for that matter, who told us that trees HAD to be painted green with brown trunks? I've always wondered if children don't see more than we do with our conditioned brains? Perhaps trees really are purple but we ceased to see the purple after someone unknowingly handed us a green crayon and basically told us what we WERE suppose to see, rather than allowing us to see what we were seeing? I wonder what else we once saw and heard that was filtered out? Hmmm... food for thought.

I usually simplify and edit unnecessary information in small paintings, however I included all the surrounding details here to show Annie in her magical world of toys, fun and bright colors. Draped across the back of the chair, Annie's golden fairy princess dress awaits her next adventure. Life was so simple and magical back then...what happened?

Thanks for entering my world of color today.

nancy

My blog: www.headondownthehighway.blogspot.com

E-mail: njparsons@suddenlink.net

My books  NEW 2012 Daily Planner and Head on Down the Highway A Blog Book

My graphic design: www.graphicdesigngroup.net