SOLD -Out on a Limb

"Out On A Limb" 4x4" oil on canvas board

Click to Buy

I have been focusing so much on fall landscapes lately, I thought I'd take a little break and paint a bird or two. This one was painted on a solid black canvas. I had been seeing these in the art supply store for a while and was tempted to experiment. This wee one is only 4x4", but just the right size nest for a baby bird to call home. Now ain't he a tweetie!!!

Thanks for fluttering by. 
nancy

© 2012 nancy parsons
_____________________________________________________
To see more of my art or to contact me: 
Gallery  •  Blog  • NEW Website • E-mail  • Graphic Design Studio

Longmire Longing

"Longmire Longing" 6x6" oil on canvas panel

"Nature has planted in our minds an insatiable 

longing to see the truth." —Marcus Tullius Cicero

Click to Buy

Most evenings I walk my dog down this hilly stretch of road. Once the sun begins its evening ritual of backlighting the towering pines standing guard to the west, deep violet shadows are summoned forth like banshees to stretch across our path as we traverse the stripes of light and darkness.

Similar to the stirrings we feel when an old song pops up on the radio and tugs at our hearts, landscapes are capable of arousing feelings of deep longing. Not to be mistaken with loneliness, the longing I am referring to is a yearning, a yearning for a deeper connection of belonging, which all humans share. Shakespeare referred to it as our "immortal longings." I believe all human creativity is but a response to this ever present longing of our souls. This longing, that never seems to find completion is described so perfectly by St. Augustine of Hippo, "Our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee." 

Thanks for traveling down Longmire Road with me today. 
nancy
© 2012 nancy parsons
_____________________________________________________
To see more of my art or to contact me: 
Gallery  •  Blog  • NEW Website • E-mail  • Graphic Design Studio

2012 Christmas Tree Ornament

I was honored to have been selected by Texas State Representative, Brandon Creighton, as this year's artist to paint our district's Christmas ornament which will hang on the Christmas tree inside the State Capital. 

To the left are the front and back of my ornament that features Lake Conroe as its theme. Our beautiful lake—still recovering from recent droughts—is home to an abundance of birds and wildlife. A blue heron is featured on the front.
 
Lake Conroe is host to a hotbed of recreational activities including water skiing, boating and fishing. From sun up to sun down, the pine covered shores invite family picnics, golfing and camping. The lake's stunning sunsets are reflected on the reverse side with a little boy and girl fishing along the bank under the setting sun. 

I had a terrible time trying to photograph this and the results are not optimal, but gives you an idea of the finished piece. 

 _____________________________________________________
To see more of my art or to contact me: 
Gallery  •  Blog  • NEW Website • E-mail  • Graphic Design Studio

SOLD -All That Glitters

"All That Glitters" Oil on gessobord" Painting from photo by Angela Fletcher

Click to Buy

Somewhere out at the edges, the night

Is turning and the waves of darkness

Begin to brighten the shore of dawn. 

 The heavy dark falls back to earth

And the freed air goes wild with light

The heart fills with fresh, bright breath

And thoughts stir to give birth to color." 

                            

 —John O'Donohue, Matins

All that glitters can be gold. Sometimes it's the sun shooting beams over a mountain peak like a laser, firing in rapid succession.
Spouting and spewing its milk and honey glow over all that lies in its path. Like an eruption of shimmery lava, transforming light races down sides of mesas and hills, oozing its way freely to fill entire valleys, and gobbling up the dark like an enormous shark on a feeding frenzy. This ghostly lion trainer cracks its whip, forcing the wild and untamed back into molded cages of form, shape and color...reclaiming what was stolen by the night.  
  
Thanks for peeking in on my pot of gold today. 
nancy

© 2012 nancyparsons
_____________________________________________________
To see more of my art or to contact me: 
Gallery  •  Blog  • NEW Website • E-mail  • Graphic Design Studio

SOLD -Fog Along the Bend

"Fog Along the Bend" 6x6" Oil on canvas panel

CLICK HERE TO BUY

"Derive happiness in oneself from a good day's work, from illuminating the fog that surrounds us."

                                        —Henri Matisse

It seems most of my life has been spent in the presence of fog. The unknown, muted and dim stands waiting behind a semitransparent veil just slightly out of reach, dangling like a carrot on the end of a stick, propelling me on like a light leading to the end of a long tunnel. 

This painting was another of my friend Angela's photos from along a bend of Longmire Road. She arrived early in the morning as the sun began rubbing sleep from its eye and shaking off the light cover of early fog stretched out ahead. 

I love the way everything in the photo including the fence, road, hay bales, stand of trees along the road all lead your eye directly to the lone solitary sentry of a tree standing guard at his post protecting the bounty of bales.

Landscapes seem to live a contemplative life trapped in the embrace of quiet, silent stillness of belonging and oneness.... echoing the eternal. 
  
Thanks for focusing in on my painting today. 
nancy
_____________________________________________________
To see more of my art or to contact me: 
Gallery  •  Blog  • NEW Website • E-mail  • Graphic Design Studio