Morning Has Broken

 

"Morning Has Broken"

Watercolor

12"x17.75"

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This first stanza of the hymn, "Morning Has Broken" was the inspiration for this watercolor painting.   One of my favorites sung at morning Mass, the words and melody fill my heart and mind with the joy of witnessing a sunrise at the beach.:

Morning Has Broken Like the first morning,
Blackbird has spoken
Like the first bird.
Praise for the singing!
Praise for the morning!
Praise for them, springing
Fresh from the Word!
Text: Eleanor Farjeon, 1881-1965

As often happens, once I complete a piece of art and try to write something that viewers might find of interest, I start writing and find myself writing a poem. This piece was no different. In response to this watercolor and the hymn mentioned above, this is a poem that emerged that best describes my impressions and joy of witnessing a sunrise as dawn breaks.  

 

MORNING HAS BROKEN 

Staring at the lingering last lights of night still present at the beach,
first crack of yolk emerges,
pouring out its golden center, spewing
across the dark canvas of horizon.

Quiet pounding of rhythmic waves, hypnotically
crashing onto sand amid the shrill cries
of gulls in search of perhaps a tiny crab
washed up onto glistening wet sand.

The silent flurry of desperate matchstick-legged sandpipers
racing down the shore line of feathered-traffic,
as if the alarm never went off-late, now frantic
in the hunt for tiny insects, crustaceans and worms.

In unison, countless banks of overlapping clouds
of all sizes and shapes, erupt cotton-candy pink
against an emerging blue backdrop, while
companies of preying flocks comb, survey,
and dive into the depths to an unaware
catch of the new day!

Thank you for viewing my post. 

For pricing, additional information, or to purchase this painting, please visit my Daily Paintworks gallery at Nancy Parsons Gallery 

Vanishing Hoopers

"Vanishing Hoopers" 8x10" oil on gessobord

The sea was wet as wet could be,

The sands were dry as dry. 

You could not see a cloud, because

No cloud was in the sky:

No birds were flying overhead--

There were no birds to fly.

— Lewis Carroll

The whooping crane has to be the most elegant, graceful and majestic bird to inhabit our planet. However, they are among the worlds rarest birds. According to Cornell Labs of Ornithology, the Whooping Crane—the tallest bird in North America—remains an endangered species, although it has rebounded from a low of just 15 cranes in the 1940s to about 600 today. Its recovery has been thanks to tireless efforts by conservationists, including Operation Migration, a creative program that helps Whooping Cranes learn migratory routes by leading these avian giants with an ultralight aircraft. Check out this beautiful Whooping Crane Cam from Operation Migration. (Be sure to turn up your volume.)

This painting was a commissioned piece to be gifted to a woman who is a founding member of a whoopers protection organization. I salute you Gwen for your amazing and sacred work.

Spread your wings and fly magnificent Whoopers, fill our longing skies! 

Thank you for viewing my favorite bird. 

 nancy 

 To see more of my art or to contact me: Online Gallery  • E-mail  • Website  •  Graphic Design Studio •  Saatchi Gallery •  Fine Art America

My Little Chickadee

                "My Little Chickadee", 4x4" oil on black canvas panel

"Life is strong and fragile. It’s a paradox… It’s both things, like quantum physics: It’s a particle and a wave at the same time. It all exists together." — Joan Jett

The most challenging human condition is to live a life that's humble, fragile, vulnerable, giving, and seemingly weak. Yet lives each day, like there is no tomorrow: brave, strong, patient, tolerant, trusting, loving, kind, selfless, and resourceful. 

Great truth is heard from silent, tiny voices.

Thank you for the oneness of imperfection shared by all the members of our human flock. 
nancy

To see more of my art or to contact me: Online Gallery  • E-mail  • Website  •  Graphic Design Studio •  Saatchi Gallery •  Fine Art America

Heart in Darkness

     "Heart in Darkness", 4x4" oil on black canvas panel

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"We live as we dream...alone..." — Joseph Conrad

Ever feel like this diminutive robin red-breast? He/she speaks to me of the inner strength of human spirit, and its ability to struggle and survive against seemingly insurmountable odds.

We've had our share of whoa lately between a car wreck, flood in our home, two huge dead trees ready to fall on our house...all resulting in major unplanned expenses. A lot of whoa? So I think, until I am reminded of so many others without even a roof, or a warm nest where to lay their children's heads. 

This is the time of year I look around and see how truly blessed we are for so many countless gifts, but most importantly the gift of life itself. This is what the merry in Christmas is about. The very gift of heart that continues, on from where it began in a stable, to burn bright with ongoing life into our surrounding darkness. 

I am thankful for the warmth and support of each of you on this branch beside me. I wish you all a very Merry Christmas! 

nancy  

To see more of my art or to contact me: Online Gallery  • E-mail  • Website  •  Graphic Design Studio •  Saatchi Gallery •  Fine Art America

Little Bird Come Sit Upon My Window Sill

"Little Bird Come Sit Upon My Window Sill", 4x4" oil on canvas board

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"Use what talents you possess; the woods would by very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang the best." — Henry Van Dyke

Winter is here and my urgent need to paint birds has once again returned. In fact, I painted three over the weekend. I don't know why I am so drawn to paint birds in the winter months, but do love capturing their little forms all plumped up with added layers of fluffy down.  

Bracing cold and chill from solitary icy limbs and dangling phone wires, these tiny creatures appear so vulnerable huddling together for warmth in single-line formations. Sitting still, like hooded monks in pews at early morning vespers, their holy chants of praise are dimmed only by the numbing roar of engines processing bumper to bumper on the street below. 

I am sure my concerns for these feathered neighbors are amplified after just losing two huge old trees from our yard. First the towering pine sucked dry by thirsty pine beetles in a matter of days, followed by the gnarled and twisted oak that lurched like a staggering old man on crutches over our driveway and house the result of a lightening strike. I lay awake at night wondering how many homes were lost in those fallen trees. Where do those refugees go when abruptly finding themselves and their families homeless? Am I the only person who worries about this stuff?

Thanks for perching here today. I'll be tweeting more birds shortly. 

nancy

To see more of my art or to contact me: Online Gallery  • E-mail  • Website  •  Graphic Design Studio •  Saatchi Gallery •  Fine Art America

Praire Chicken

"Praire Chicken", 29x24", Prismacolor on paper

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The Greater Prairie Chicken, sometimes called a boomer, is a member of the grouse family. Almost extinct in the 1930s, today these incredible birds remain threatened by habitat loss and loss of genetic variance and are extremely rare or extinct over much of its range. 

The male variety boasts prominent feathers called pinnae on their necks, a bright yellow eye comb, and a gular air sack on the side of their neck that is orange to yellow in color during the breeding season. During mating season, males inflate this air sack causing a booming noise, raise their pinnae feathers, and enlarge their eye comb to attract females for breeding. The largest remaining populations are in Kansas, Nebraska and South Dakota.   

Of the three subspecies, Attwater's prairie hen is native to coastal Texas and Louisiana, survives only in small portions of southeast Texas, and is listed as endangered in the US. Another subspecies the heath hen which was historically found along the Atlantic coast is extinct.  

ARTIST STATEMENT 

My goal in this series of endangered species, created in the mid-80s, was to capture the souls and spirits of our mute neighbors with whom we share the planet. I was captivated and haunted by the frank eyes of all of these creatures, so human in their longing and need, pleading silently for their futures and ultimate survival. 

Thanks for viewing,
nancy 

To see more of my art or to contact me: Online Gallery  • E-mail  •  Website  •  Graphic Design Studio •  Saatchi Gallery •  Fine Art America

 

Watch on the Wild Side

"Watch on the Wild Side", 4x4" oil on black canvas board

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"The call of the wild is a call to the elemental levels of the soul, the places of intuition, kinship, swiftness, fluency and the consolation of the lonesome that is not lonely."

— John O' Donohue

Swallowed alive by the demands of the holiday season, it felt good to return to the solitary retreat of my loft studio, brushes, the smell of paint, and the hours of quiet that sustain with the fullness of silence. 

I sat for a long time today watching a myriad of wintering birds fluttering from limb to limb outside my window. They darted in and out of dry seed pods at the tips of barren crepe myrtles, creating lacy umber patterns against the cold blue sky. Under the empty bird feeder, a small flock of morning dove peck and forage for scraps rudely knocked to the ground by a rowdy band of squirrels. These uninvited guests barge in and squander while hanging upside down from the fast-food diner in search of the choicest entrees of corn and sunflower seeds. 

Just over the fence, the noisy celebration continues among a lush canopy of loblolly pine, sweetgum, oak, magnolia, dogwood, just to name a few. Shrouding a host of low lying natives, this piece of forest provides protection for a multitude of bird-loving plants, berries, grasses and shrubs like: american beautyberry, black cherry, pigeonberry, turkscap, redbud, yaupon holly, maiden hair fern, trumpet and grapevines, dwarf palmetto, and hundreds of others whose names I am unfamiliar.

Today was just another extraordinary day camouflaged in the ordinary.

Thanks for viewing today's songbird the Wood Thrush. Happy New Year!

nancy

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

Her's and His

"Her's" 4x4" miniature oil on black canvas board

 "...And His" 4x4" miniature oil on black canvas board

 Click Here to Buy  FEMALE CARDINAL

"Abundance is not something we acquire. It is something we tune into." - Wayne Dyer
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/search_results.html#PEXv6HXitzLPhElf.99

"Abundance is not something we acquire. It is something we tune into." - Wayne Dyer
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/search_results.html#PEXv6HXitzLPhElf.9

 
Click Here to Buy MALE CARDINAL

 "A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song" —Lou Holtz 

Here's a bright young pair of male and female cardinals, donned in thick warm crimson layers of feathery down, singing a duet while foraging for seeds and fruit from high branches. "Like two birds of a feather, they stick together" throughout the blast of winter's deep chill.

I wanted to keep these paintings simple by limiting the number of brush strokes, as I did with the simple shapes found in my black capped chickadee posted earlier this week. However these fledglings just seemed to require more information in order to portrait the soft feel of fluffy plumes and quill on their chubby forms. 

I have posted these paintings as a pair so as not to split them up, but let's face it, divorce happens...so they are also available individually. ; )

Thank you for perching with me for a moment or two. 

nancy 

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

SOLD -Feed the Birds Cheetos?

"Feed the Birds Cheetos?" 8x8" Oil on gessobord

SOLD

"But let there be spaces in your togetherness and let the winds of the heavens dance between you. Love one another but make not a bond of love: let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls." 

— Khalil Gibran

I snapped this amazing photo of my granddaughter last week while at the beach as she was enticing seagulls with her Cheetos Puffs. I hope she didn't turn them all into junk-food junkies. 

I wasn't sure I'd be able to capture—or, for that matter, even paint—all those birds in such a feathery-frenzy-of-flurry motion. But I am happy with the way it came out. Rather than trying to paint all the birds in full detail, I opted to paint only the largest bird with the most detail and then just loosely indicated the rest of the flock. This helped maintain the impressionist quality I love so much, allow the birds to recede in the composition and not compete too much with the foreground figure. 

* Sorry this painting sold to my daughter before I was able to post.

Thank you for dropping in 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 book: 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

In The Hood

"In The Hood" 6x6" oil on gessobord

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I have been having so much fun painting birds. I decided to buy a serious bird feeder, so I could get to know some of the locals in my hood. Sunday morning, I put the feeder up and filled it to the brim with bird seed and went inside to paint. When I peeked out the window several minutes later... to my total delight... there were were a pair of titmice munching down like they hadn't eaten for a week. Moments later these happy patrons became dining companions of this little Black Capped Chickadee; he was dressed to the hilt including his masked Zorro disguise. I nearly jumped out of my skin I was so excited!!! This was the first time I'd ever seen one that I recall? Funny how, until I started painting birds, with the exception of avifauna (cardinals, blue jays, robins, sparrows and crows), I was never able to recognize or identify any of the other birds. What a gift this has been as a whole new world has opened before my eyes. I wonder what other priceless treasures I am blind to in the world which surrounds me?

Today a cute cardinal couple discovered the free handouts and hung about most of the early morning. All was well until Suzy squirrel got wind of the grand opening of my fast food avian diner and made a total pig out herself...what a mess!

Thanks for dropping by for the feast 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