Guard Stand

"Sunburned Lifeguards" 6x6" Oil on canvas panel

                                                       Click to Purchase


You've been walking in circles, searching. Don't drink by the water's edge. Throw yourself in. Become the water. Only then will your thirst end.   — Jeanette Berson

Dive right in. Take a refreshing plunge under the careful watch of vigilant sunburned lifeguards, on duty from their towering stands.

Author/poet John O'Donohue said "water takes on the shape of whatever contains it: jug, stream, well, river, lake, ocean, tears, rain, mist or moisture." I painted this from my studio looking out over our womb-shaped pool which beckons below. With 90 percent of the human body comprised of water, swimming... in a way... is sort of like going back into the womb, and to our first experience of existence. No wonder why we all want beach houses and lake front property.  

Thanks for testing the waters here.  

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

Sister Act

 "Magnolia Minuet" 6x6" oil on canvas panel

SOLD

"Magnolia Memory" 6x6" oil on canvas panel

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Only one of the two paintings above is a duplicate of the one I already posted on Tuesday. Can you tell the difference? Look again. These are two separate paintings using the same magnolia for my subject, but one is from a bit further away. I entered both of them in the "Seeing Double Challenge" on Daily Paintworks and painted them simultaneously.
 
Thanks for doing a double take. 

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

SOLD -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

SOLD -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

SOLD -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

Click to Purchase

"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