Holy Night

 

"Holy Night"

10x7.125"

"What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; 
the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." —Jn 1:3-5

So, where was Jesus born in a cave or a stable in Bethlehem? 

I did some research to decide which location to use for the background setting of the nativity. "The Gospel says that Jesus was born in a cave or stable in Bethlehem because there was no room for them in the inn.” (Luke 2.7) There, Jesus, the "spotless lamb", was wrapped in swaddling clothes—perhaps the same swaddling clothes that shepherds would have used at that time to swaddle a spotless lamb—and laid in a manger. But was the manger in a cave or a stable? 

The place of Jesus' birth has always been held in high esteem, which is why at the beginning of the fourth century a small chapel was built around it so everyone could visit. Unfortunately, the chapel was destroyed during a revolt in the sixth century. Soon after, Emperor Justinian had the chapel rebuilt, but it was much larger – it would be a basilica! This basilica was built above the original chapel on the very spot where Jesus was born. The basilica was verified to have been built on top of a cave. 

According to ancient Christian sources, Jesus was most likely born in the darkness of a cave rather than a stable. To this day, many caves surrounding Bethlehem and Palestine have traditionally been used as stables for livestock for centuries. 

If Jesus' life began in the darkness of a cave, and he was also buried in a cave/tomb after his crucifixion and death, this completes a full circle, which is why I chose a cave for the scene of my painting.

Thanks for viewing my work!

nancy

References: 

https://ewtn.co.uk/chpop-where-god-was-born-inside-the-holy-church-of-the-nativity-in-bethlehem/

https://www.oursundayvisitor.com/was-jesus-really-born-in-a-stable/

 

Diving Back In

 

"Layers of Leaves II"

6.75x5.75"

This watercolor is the second in my "Layers of Leaves" Deep Dive series. The leaves are smaller, tighter, and the layers are more defined. 

In "Layers of Leaves I", my first experiment with negative painting, I used a blue/green for the vines and leaves to imply a shady area—this time I selected a sunny, yellow/green to portray a warmer spot in the bright sun.

These leaves could have been painted in the same static green that the eye perceives—receding darker and darker by adding more black. However, using values of lighter green tints helped me imply depth with light more effectively. 

Thus, proving once again, "less is more"! 

Thanks for viewing my work. 

Nancy

Click to view this watercolor in my gallery and to explore all categories of oil and watercolor paintings. 

London Still Life

London Still Life
12x10”
Prismacolor 

 I love all the details Prismacolor pencils can capture. This still life was drawn during a six-week trip to England with my 2011 Texas State Poet Laureate husband, David M. Parsons. Dave was studying with Stanley Plumly in the University of Houston London program. His time was filled with seminars, so I filled most of mine working on this still life in our cozy room in Maida Vale.

I have always loved working with Prismacolors—and, best of all, they don’t take up any room in a suitcase.

For my subject matter, I chose some small items purchased on our trip. The arrangement included various found pieces, including an antique "Blue Willow" china plate and a teapot with matching creamer, mini jars of jam, a crystal brandy glass, linens, a wine bottle, a small wooden case of fish knives (sans a key) also purchased from a local antique shop, a small tin of breath mints, a packet of flower seeds with pressing instructions, and a few baby carnations.

I labored with those wooden sticks of color for 30+ hours on this piece, loving this artwork with all its fine detail into existence.

When we returned from our journey across the pond, I was delighted to be awarded a Touring Citation from the Texas Fine Arts Association in the “Texas Realism 1985” competition. Juror: Tom Livesay, Assistant Director, Dallas Museum of Art. This painting toured for a year, visiting numerous communities across Texas.

Thank you for viewing my work.  

Life is a daring adventure! I hope to see you again soon on the journey. 

All best, 

Nancy

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Deep Dive Discovery

9x12”
Live area 5.75x6.88”
©2026

This watercolor painting is the first in a series of smaller pieces that will explore painting multiple layers around a given subject. This intriguing technique was new to me. I watched an online video demo of this negative painting process; I was excited to give it a try. 

For this piece, I began drawing the top leaves and painted the entire area with a wash of color. Then I drew more leaves and painted another wash over all except for the top layer of leaves. This process was then repeated one more time so that the lightest leaf values were on the top layer, over midtones, and the final darkest values on the other two layers.  

I love working in this new, rather contemplative process, but was even more surprised to realize how the painting could easily be viewed as a metaphor for the inner self. The lightest leaves represented the side of me that the world sees —sometimes known as our "false self". The background and other leaves in midtone and dark values could likewise be viewed as our “true self,” the side that we most likely hide from the world.

This was a very interesting technique that I plan to continue exploring. If you’ve never tried a negative watercolor, it is worth the time and may produce some cool visual and perhaps emotional effects.  

Oh, life is such a daring adventure!  lol

Thanks for viewing,

Nancy