Graceful Grazer

"Graceful Grazer" 16x20" Oil on stretched canvas

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"Horses make a landscape look beautiful."

—Alice Walker

Horses are so beautiful...they don't even look real. This landscape had little redeeming value, but this stepper totally charmed me.

I came across this beauty while searching for a place to park at Old Town Spring. This is a 1900s historic railroad town featuring antiques, galleries, gift/specialty shops and restaurants, located not far from where I live. 

I stopped there briefly over St. Patrick's Day weekend while the whistle-stop was crammed full of tourists. I had to park way in the back on a field near the railroad tracks. As I was getting out of my car, I looked up and was stopped dead in my tracks by this graceful creature grazing in a small pasture behind a little cabin/house. I'm lucky I didn't get shot walking around—basically trespassing—to snap some photos. Oh well, what's life if it's not a daring adventure? I had to take a chance, or miss an opportunity that might never trot my way again. 

Thanks for please not turning me over to the authorities. :  )

nancy
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The Oasis Patio

"The Oasis Patio" 16x12" oil on Ampersand gessobord

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On the final day of the workshop, we finally got to paint from real life en plein air on the patio at The Oasis Restaurant which perches along the cliffs high above Lakeway in Austin. 

In the early morning the wind was quite brisk as we watched in awe of our instructor, Colley Whisson, masterfully paint a demo. By 10:30 a.m. the sun was bright and warm and we selected our own locations to paint from on the patio entrance to the restaurant. 

Below is a photo of my chosen subject matter. You can see there was a lot going on and much detail, but part of an impressionist artist's job is to filter out what isn't necessary, or might detract from the piece. My main objective here was to capture the strong light hitting the side of the tall building in the background and cutting through the arched walkway portal onto the patio. Of course, the sun was constantly moving and the light changing, which made the process very challenging. Oh and did I mention, there were people wandering all over the place watching us and making comments.

Although I was standing in the shade of big tree, by the end of the day I walked away with today's painting and a fiery sunburn on just one shoulder...a hazard of the trade. :  )

Thank you for following my workshop experience. I still have lots of information to process which hopefully will help me to grow in my painting skill.

nancy
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Austin Workshop Day 3

"Bridging Gaps" After Colley Whisson,  9x12" oil on gessobord

This is the painting I did on Day 3 of the Colley Whisson workshop. It was another landscape from Australia of a river and road resting quietly under a busy bridge. Again we worked indoors at the Anderson Mill Museum from demos and photographs. 

We began each painting by blocking in the large areas of color and values, and then redefining these same areas in the next stage. In the final step, all that was needed was to add a few perfectly placed accent lines and marks here and there to simply indicate details.  Then suddenly...abracadabra presto chango...the painting took on a life!

Of course, this was all a lot harder than in sounds. Colley made the process look so effortless, but trust me it was extremely challenging and required much thought and diligence every step of the way.






Thank you for taking a moment to drop by.
nancy
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Austin Workshop Day 2

"The Lobby" after Colley Whisson, 12x16" oil on Ampersand gessobord

On Day 2 of the Colley Whisson Workshop, we again painted from Colley's painting. This time a larger panel of an interior shot from the inside of an old hotel lobby in Australia.

Step-by-step, Colley demonstrated each of the three alla prima layers, pausing in between for us to complete each step on our own canvas. Then he would come around and help us individually correcting as needed.  

Copying is a great tool to help step out of your box, go inside the artist's head, and understand his process. This forces you to leave your comfort zone and explore new approaches. 

Hope you enjoy the painting as much as I did painting it!

nancy
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Austin Workshop Day 1

"Seascape Drama", 12x9" After Colley Whisson

I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to attend a 4-day "Impressionist Painting in Oils" workshop in Austin last week. I returned home late Sunday evening exhausted, but loved every moment taught by internationally recognized Australian painter, Colley Whisson. Colley paints very loose and is a master of light which totally hooks me. His paintings almost look more like watercolor than oils. I learned so much over the 4 days my head is still spinning. 

The workshop was very challenging working 9-4:00 each day with just a short lunch break. We used paints, solvent and a lean medium all of which I've never used before. I usually work with small 1/4" and smaller brushes, but in this workshop we used a 1" hog hair brush, and an enormous 3" synthetic brush that looked more like you could paint a house with it. At the very end of each painting, we were allowed to use a fine brush for just a few final details. Here's one of his U-Tube painting demos.

Today's painting was the first one we worked on from a beach scene in Australia. If you zoom in close you'll see there are a couple of figures sitting in the sand in the dark shade. 

Colley's methods are a unique approach for me, so I sucked it all in like a thirsty sponge. I can't wait to see how my future work will be impacted by my new wealth of knowledge. 

I'll be posting the 3 other paintings we completed over the next few days...to be continued.

Thank you for tuning in. 

nancy
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Long Shadows on Longmire Road

"Long Shadows on Longmire Road" 16x20" Oil on stretched canvas

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 "Dreaming or awake, we perceive only events that have meaning to us." —Jane Roberts

This stretch of Longmire Road, where I walk my dog in the early evenings, never ceases to stop me dead in my tracks. If you think I'm making this up, here's the photo I snapped on my phone. I admit I've taken a little artistic license in the painting and did push the colors a tad, but isn't it an enchanted spot?

This is a place where if you become very quiet and listen carefully you can hear deep within a melody of gratefulness begin to arise.

It's also at this mysterious and serene time of day, that two age-old antagonists—light and darkness—enter the arena for another showdown. Light grabs hold tight, while the determined opponent attacks in quick jabs, stabs, pulls and stretches. When little resistance is left, darkness delivers one final death defying blow that flattens into dark rivers and flat puddles of flickering shadow. Light, admitting defeat, lays lifeless until dawn.                                                                                            "In the twilight of life, God will not judge us on our earthly possessions and human success, but rather on how much we have loved." —John of the Cross

       Thanks for coming along on my walk today.
       nancy  
       
       © 2013 nancy parsons

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Sacred Heart Church

"Sacred Heart Catholic Church" 12x16" oil on gessobord

         "Home is where the heart is."—Pliny the Elder

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I thought I'd share a painting I am donating to Sacred Heart Church's "Annual Spring Festival" fundraising event next Sunday here in Conroe. 

I've been an active member of the parish since 1984. Over these years we were blessed by five pastors, and have seen families come and go as Sacred Heart has continued to grow by leaps and bounds. While it's wonderful we've totally overgrown this campus—serving near 5,000 families—and have broken ground for a larger church on the grounds, there is still something a little sad about trading in this cherished sanctuary for a newer model.  

My husband and I were married at Sacred Heart, we've had children baptized, attend school, take instructions and received the sacraments here, my mother sang in the choir for many, many years, and my father's Celebration of Life was shared inside its doors. Sacred Heart has been a big part of my family. 

I painted this to commemorate all the years of service to our community and to the thousands of lives that have been touched and impacted at its welcoming wide-open doors inviting all to worship. 

Thanks for letting me share.

nancy 

© 2013 nancy parsons

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Out On A Limb

"Out On A Limb" 8x10" oil on gessobord

Painting from a photo by photographer and avid hiker, Angela Fletcher.

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"Life's not the breaths you take, but the moments that take breath away."—George Strait

I didn't get to paint or post last week due to the graphic design work load along with an attack of annual oak pollen crud. But, I'm back in the saddle now...or at least have a paint brush in my hand again. 

I love the George Strait quote above. It was the answer to yesterday's Celebrity Cipher puzzle in our local newspaper. By my own admission, I am a Cipher, Jumble, Crossword addict. 

When it comes to choosing a landscape to paint, I literally can have the breath knocked right out of me when encountering beautiful scenery sitting in perfect light. It's then, stopped dead in my tracks, that I hear the signal telling me I have got to paint it. I may be out on a limb here, but maybe it's the other way around? Perhaps when a landscape grabs my eye and pulls so strongly at my heart strings, the scene is really choosing me out everybody else in the world, at that one moment in time, to paint its portrait? Hmm...What a honor and a joy to be an artist!

Thanks for pausing for a breath or two.

nancy 

© 2013 nancy parsons

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Touch of Spring

"Touch of Spring" 16x20" oil on stretched canvas

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"Green is the prime color of the world, and that from which its loveliness arises."

—Pedro Calderon de la Barca

 

This large 16x20" painting was taken from my friend Angela's photograph on a hike through the woods about a month ago. I always love that magical time of year when you first begin to see soft tender tufts of green emerging on bare branches high in the sky hinting at the promise of spring on the way.

e.e. cummings sums it up so perfectly, "I thank you God for this most amazing day, for the leaping greenly spirits of trees, and for the blue dream of sky and for everything which is natural which is infinite, which is yes." 

Thanks for pausing with me for a moment to salute another spring.  nancy 

© 2013 nancy parsons

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Morning Headlines

"Morning Headlines" 10x8" oil on gessobord

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"The breezes at dawn have secrets to tell you; 
don't go back to sleep." 
— Jalaluddin Rumi, mystical poet

How I love being present to witness the first light of day as it streams in my east facing kitchen windows. Stepping boldly into the center ring with awesome power and majesty, this mighty force pummels it's way in through every crook and cranny, splitting open a gaping gash of light across the surface of dark wooden table. Instantly this force to be reckoned with, delivers another swift jab resulting in a death defying knock-out blow! Sun, the "winner and world champion" is silently proclaimed as rooster erupts in unabated joy. Darkness, has once again been trumped by the hope and resurrection of new day. 

John Ciardi summed it up so perfectly, "Cry anything you please. But praise..."

Top of the morning to you. I hope you've enjoyed this not-so-still life. 

nancy 

© 2013 nancy parsons

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Hanging Out

"Hanging Out" 6x6" oil on gessobord 

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"Rest until you feel like playing, then play until you like resting, period. Never do anything else." — Martha Beck

Easier said than done. How about changing that quote to, work until you feel like resting, then rest until you feel like working? Sometimes we have to admit defeat and give into what our bodies are telling us.

I felt compelled to paint these blue jeans hanging in quiet repose "with nobody inside 'em." They're doing a terrific job of relaxing on a hanger until someone to comes along and pours life back into them. 

I don't know why sitting still and resting is so impossible for me? My mom swears she never could get me to take a nap when I was little. To this day, every time I tell myself I'm going to sit down and escape into some mindless TV show, all I can think about is what I should be doing and what all I'm not accomplishing. Now I have no trouble sleeping, so if I sit there more than 15 minutes, I'll doze off. I admire people who can simply sit and rest, it makes me fidgety and restless. Gosh, I really need to work on that!!!  : )

Thanks for hang'n around with me today. 
 nancy 

© 2013 nancy parsons

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My Little Corner of the World

"My Corner of the World", 6x6" Oil on Gessobord

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  " Light is the first of painters. There is no object so foul that intense light will not make it beautiful."                  

 — Ralph Waldo Emerson

Time for  a coffee break! You deserve it. 

 
Step right in and have a seat. Welcome to one of the cozy little corners in my world. The big blue hand-me-down stuffed chair is calling you to stop whatever you’re doing, to pause for a moment and relax in quiet mindfulness.

Arlo Guthrie said, "You can't have a light without a dark to stick it in." Can you feel the morning light as it breaks through the slats of wooden blinds to warm your heart right where you sit?  Like a rooster waving sticks of soft yellow pastels, the sun breaks in —without the need of a key—to illuminate this sleepy corner of my family room every sunny morning. I love the play of light on the walls and wood floors, but especially the striped pattern it creates on my red pillow.
 

Would you care for coffee or tea? It’s moments like this that souls thirst for.

nancy

© 2013 nancy parsons

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Trail Ponder

"Trail Ponder" 6x6" oil on gessobord

"What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters compared to what lives within us." 

— Henry David Thoreau

This is a painting of Lee—one of my six amazing sisters—seen hiking in Montana a number of years ago. I've been holding onto this photo wanting to paint it, but the lighting was so dark I wasn't sure I could pull it off. Photos always make the darkest areas appear unnaturally dark, so I had to accommodate. 

I love today’s quote reminding me how we are all walking day-by-day on paths through wild untamed and unfamiliar woods carrying our bags. The past we have somehow survived, while the future we ponder and sometimes worry over what lies around the next bend. But for right now, at this very moment, we are comforted by the distant hoot of an owl, the caw of a crow from somewhere unseen in the tree overhead, and the sounds of water licking cold stones smooth along reed filled banks. Here, the dabbled light casts translucent blue and violet patterns like fine tatted lace on moss covered trunks and limbs. While there, blinding beams of sun slash without mercy through rocks and boulders in its path; leaves on branches shimmer on wafts of musty dank breezes. While underfoot, the sound of crunching twigs and dry grasses march in perfect time to each beat of a gladdened heart. All that surrounds is holding and hugging this sacred presence of “now.” Grab it quick before it to disappears into past!

 

Thanks for meandering in today.

© 2013 nancy parsons

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Early Bloomers

"Early Bloomers" 6x6" oil on canvas panel

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"One that would have the fruit must climb the tree."

— Thomas Fuller

...Or, have a friend willing to climb a tree. My swimming buddy Angela sent me a photo she snapped of these early bloomers. I loved the photograph and cropped in on this one section to paint.  

Does anyone know what kind of a tree this is? My guess is a tulip tree? What a display these total over achievers put on! They're always the first kids on the block to come out to play. 

The oak trees are budding out now, but I'm still waiting for my redbud and azaleas to break free of their wintery caskets. I am sure, like a game of Kick the Can, it won't be long now before "everybody comes in free."
 
Thanks for catching my sneak preview of spring.
nancy

© 2013 nancy parsons

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White's Not White

"Bathing Beauty" 10x8" oil on gessobord

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"The snow goose need not bathe to make itself white. Neither need you do anything but be yourself." — Lao Tzu

Seriously? Did people really ever get clean bathing like this?  

Painting anything white is a real challenge for me. For the robe in this painting, if you zoom in closely, you'll see I used a wide variety of thin pastel colors including green, violet, pink, blue and yellow first. The hardest part is holding off using any white paint until the very end. Once I have all the subtle values in place, the last thing I do is hit the tiny bits of highlights that appear here and there with thick pure white. Abrakadabra presto chango! Like magic the robe instantly reads white even though there is very little white present. It is so interesting how the eye reads all that color as white.

Although this robed subject is not a dirty snow goose, it does show how you can paint objects that look white by using very little white paint and have them still read as white.  
 
Thanks for peeking in today. 
nancy

© 2013 nancy parsons

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First Sign of Spring

"First Sign of Spring" 8x10", oil on gessobord

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"There are always flowers for those who want to see them." 

                                — Henri Matisse 

Who needs a ground hog and its shadow? I can predict when spring is about to break free from the grips of winter. It happens suddenly out of the dark stillness of bare branches, when delicate pink blossoms emerge along pencil-thin twisted boughs by the fence behind my studio.   
 
I clipped a small flowering twig to use in today's more complex still life. I filled the scene with some of my life’s creature comforts including a spot of tea from a silver teapot and spoon, an apple, ceramic baby birds, books and of course candies.  

To give you a bit more insight on the blossoming peach tree; it hasn't always abided in my yard. In fact, this wild and wandering immigrant grew up in the woods behind my house where for many years I had admired it from afar. Then one day, to my total amazement, it popped up on my side of the fence. I assumed a seed either floated in on a strong breeze, or perhaps was carried by a bird or a fairy to take root in my garden. Or, if the truth be told, maybe this lonely tree sensing my deep love and appreciation for its annual beauty, fought and clawed its way underground and the 8 foot pine barrier to enter my fecund oasis where automated watering was all inclusive. The law of attraction? Creative visualization? Oh, the power of love ... and the mind. 

Yoshida Kenko said, "Blossoms are scattered by the wind and the wind cares nothing, but the blossoms of the heart no wind can touch."
 
Happy Valentine's Day!
nancy

© 2013 nancy parsons

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