Freedom's Song

"FREEDOM'S SONG", 8X8" OIL ON MUSEUM QUALITY GESSOBORD

NOT FOR SALE

 "In almost everything that touches our everyday life on earth, God is pleased when we're pleased. He wills that we be as free as birds to soar and sing our maker's praise without anxiety"  
                                   — A.W. Tozer

I shot the photo reference for this painting in Galveston, TX several years ago, but have been unable to paint it; somehow I couldn't feel the freedom I was seeing in the bird's flight. Today was different, I felt the wind, rode on currents of air, and soared while basking in the warm light of joyful bliss and abandonment. Today I flew!

I give thanks for the gift of freedom and life.  
nancy

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

Call of the Light

"Call of the Light", 20x16, oil on gessobord

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"All men's miseries derive from not being able to sit in a quiet room alone." —Blaise Pascal

This large painting is of the wing back chair that sits in the corner of my mom's living room where I snapped the photo reference. 

Caught in a yin-yang sea of cool and warm light, the chair sits vacant and still, like an empty canoe at dawn, docked against a back lit window that laps cool waves of early morning light against its sides. In a battle for dominance and balance, the table lamp to the right, casts its baited hooks of warm golden highlights designed to lure and reel you in for the catch.  

This seat beckons, kick off your shoes and sit right down. Simply be and listen for a quiet moment, not with the mind but with ears of the heart. 

This tiny minnow-of-a-habit built into each day reaps a bounty you'll never throw back. 

Thanks for bobbing by today!

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

Tea Toddlers

 

"Tea Toddlers" 6x6" oil on gessobord

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 "Tea to the English is really a picnic indoors."—Alice Walker

Would you care for a crumpet? This inviting setting speaks to me as clocks slipped backwards into shorter days; and cooler evening temps dipped down into the 40s and 50s here in East Texas. Time to cozy up to a warm fire and a cup of hot lemony tea

The very cool cobalt teapot was a recent gift from a friend. Although I've been enjoying lots of delightful tea from its depths, I have also secretly been savoring this china temple for the subject of a still life. So, when I spied the bright lush lemons in the produce section last weekend, I knew the time was ripe.

I decided to go with a very dark chocolate hue in the background, where the edges of the short and stout little teapot would melt into it. I was happy with the results, and with the subtle hints of complimentary purple and oranges in the shadows of fabric folds.
I think this painting will make pretty note cards. Check out my Website for full details.

 
Thanks for dropping by for low tea on a high note. 
nancy_____________________________________________________________________________________
To see more of my art or to contact me: Online Gallery  • E-mail  •  Website  •  Graphic Design Studio 

First Light

"First Light", 10x8", oil on gessobord

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 "FREE" Shipping in October

"In order for the light to shine so brightly, the darkness must be present."

 — Francis Bacon

Early one morning, stumbling into the kitchen for a cup of coffee, I happen to notice this quiet corner of my living room sitting in darkness, just as the sun began shining its flashlight into the east facing window to create a wondrous light show on the walls. I had painted this same scene last spring, but wanted to catch the light brought on by the changing season. It's always interesting to see how different light appears at various times of the year. 

Francis Bacon's quote above can apply to art, for without the darkness nothing has shape or definition. Darkness holds the light serving a backdrop, yet darkness and light are both necessary and have their own unique co-dependent roles to play; one is nothing without the contrast of its opposing truth. This is such an appropriate metaphor for life, especially when we find ourselves overwhelmed by darkness; if we can just wait patiently, soon the light will again break through to show us the way. Martin Luther King said, "Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that..." 

My favorite part of this painting was placing the one little white dot of light hitting on the red pillow. After all it's the simplest things in life that mean the most.

Thanks for shining your light into my digital world today. 
nancy 

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

SOLD - Room Service

"Room Service" 8x8" oil on gessobord

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"All of life is an empty room. It is our task to fill it with something worth listening to." 

— Joan Chittister

As Shakesphere said, "All the world is a stage"... and this empty chair is merely a player. A stoic prop, positioned slightly off-center stage, sits transfixed in the warm flood of first light pouring in through glass and splashing across the floor. 

This painting is of another corner of the hotel room where I recently stayed in Fort Worth. This delightful room serviced me well, an unspoken invitation to pause in the solitude of the great abyss. Or at least, that's how I perceived it. 

I've mentioned in previous blogs about my need for silence, and how important it is to my soul. I suspect this might have something to do with the fact that the TV broadcasts day and night at my house, especially during football season. I rarely ever sit down to watch it myself cause nine times out of ten, I'll be asleep within a matter of minutes. My need for quietude really is very productive because it spurns me to retreat to another room of service—my studio—where I can listen and paint to my hearts content in the utter soundlessness of "Do Not Disturb."

Thanks for checking in today! You've earned a tip!!!  : ) 

*****FREE SHIPPING***** For the month of October treat yourself to FREE shipping on all domestic shipments, and 1/2 off all international shipping charges. Offer applies to any paintings purchased from my Online Gallery. 
_______________________________________________________
To see more of my art or to contact me: Online Gallery  • E-mail  •  Website  • Graphic Design Studio 

SOLD Good Golly Miss Mollie

SOLD "Good Golly Miss Mollie" 10x8" oil on gessobord

Happiness is not a brilliant climax to years of grim struggle and anxiety. It is a long succession of little decisions simply to be happy in the moment.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/j/jdonaldwa183433.html#xAsjdHyZkpu9hW2l.99

Happiness is not a brilliant climax to years of grim struggle and anxiety. It is a long succession of little decisions simply to be happy in the moment.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/j/jdonaldwa183433.html#xAsjdHyZkpu9hW2l.99

Happiness is not a brilliant climax to years of grim struggle and anxiety. It is a long succession of little decisions simply to be happy in the moment.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/j/jdonaldwa183433.html#xAsjdHyZkpu9hW2l.99

Happiness is not a brilliant climax to years of grim struggle and anxiety. It is a long succession of little decisions simply to be happy in the moment.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/j/jdonaldwa183433.html#xAsjdHyZkpu9hW2l.99

"Happiness is not a brilliant climax to years of grim struggle and anxiety. It is a long succession of little decisions simply to be happy in the moment." 

— J. Donald Walters

Decisions, decisions. This sweet little girl with the big white bow in her hair, Miss Mollie, was with her mom at Panera one morning last week. You can find me there most mornings having coffee with friends before going to work. On this one particular morning, I glanced up from my cup of Hazelnut, to see little Mollie stretching up on tipey-tipey toes, barely tall enough to see all the decadent goodies behind the glass counter. Hmm...muffin, bagel, cookie, tart, danish or maybe a cupcake? 

While Mollie was trying to make up her mind, her mom graciously allowed me to snap a photo reference for today's painting. I was so thrilled at the prospect of painting her, I never even notice what she ended up choosing for breakfast, but hopefully she enjoyed it as much as I did painting her.

Thanks for choosing to view my painting today. 

nancy 

__________________________________________________________________________________

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

SOLD - Kick Off Your Shoes...

"...And Sit Right Down" 10x8" oil on gessobord

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"We humans have lost the wisdom of genuinely resting and relaxing. We worry too much and don't allow our bodies to heal, and we don't allow our minds and hearts to heal."

— Thich Nhat Hanh

We humans have lost the wisdom of genuinely resting and relaxing. We worry too much. We don't allow our bodies to heal, and we don't allow our minds and hearts to heal.

Thich Nhat Hanh

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/t/thichnhath531576.html#Hii8FOkCeFImWgdV.99

We humans have lost the wisdom of genuinely resting and relaxing. We worry too much. We don't allow our bodies to heal, and we don't allow our minds and hearts to heal.

Thich Nhat Hanh

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/t/thichnhath531576.html#Hii8FOkCeFImWgdV.99

We humans have lost the wisdom of genuinely resting and relaxing. We worry too much. We don't allow our bodies to heal, and we don't allow our minds and hearts to heal.

Thich Nhat Hanh

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/t/thichnhath531576.html#Hii8FOkCeFImWgdV.99

I have never taken any exercise except sleeping and resting. Mark Twain

Sleeping, Exercise, Taken

Saving faith is an immediate relation to Christ, accepting, receiving, resting upon Him alone, for justification, sanctification, and eternal life by virtue of God's grace. Charles Spurgeon

Life, Faith, Alone

Laziness is nothing more than the habit of resting before you get tired. Jules Renard

Tired, Laziness, Habit

On the plains of hesitation lie the blackened bones of countless millions who at the dawn of victory lay down to rest, and in resting died. Adlai E. Stevenson

Lie, Victory, Rest

You know, I think of the global economy as an inverted triangle, resting on the shoulders of the American consumer. And if the American consumer cannot have enough disposable income in order to maintain a standard of living that creates more opportunities generation after generation, that's bad for everybody. Hillary Clinton

Bad, Enough, Living

After all, the best part of a holiday is perhaps not so much to be resting yourself, as to see all the other fellows busy working. Kenneth Grahame

Best, Yourself, Busy

Resting on your laurels is as dangerous as resting when you are walking in the snow. You doze off and die in your sleep. Ludwig Wittgenstein

Sleep, Snow, Die

A babe in the house is a well-spring of pleasure, a messenger of peace and love, a resting place for innocence on earth, a link between angels and men. Martin Farquhar Tupper

Love, Peace, Men

I get a lot of the ideas when I'm resting - either when I'm meditating or getting some kind of work done on my back, like physical therapy or acupuncture. That's where I get my best ideas, maybe because I'm balancing my body. Katy Perry

Work, Best, Done

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

Else, Until, Playing

I'm always trying to do stuff I haven't done before or challenge myself so I'm not resting on my laurels all of the time because if I just found my little niche and never left it, I'd be pretty boring, I think. Zooey Deschanel

Time, Boring, Done

Not a having and a resting, but a growing and becoming, is the character of perfection as culture conceives it. Matthew Arnold

Character, Culture, Growing

My girlfriend is much better than I am at working hard then resting, and she demands that from me, too. She insists on having time when we don't do anything. We leave the housework and watch a movie. Cynthia Nixon

Time, Hard, Working

I guess I just have one of those resting faces that makes me look like I want to beat you up. Jeremy Renner

Makes, Guess, Beat

As I hope it doesn't come to the point where I need to take a day off. I feel pretty good right now and I'm not resting or saving for any other game. Tim Duncan

Good, Hope, Game

A man's motive in the small actions of daily life, like resting a moment on his pitchfork in the sun and listening intently, may be the most important thing about that man. Haniel Long

Life, Daily, May

Resting for me is fitness training. Jenson Button

Fitness, Training

We humans have lost the wisdom of genuinely resting and relaxing. We worry too much. We don't allow our bodies to heal, and we don't allow our minds and hearts to heal.

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/resting.html#DADE37VR9mFH35f6.99

I have never taken any exercise except sleeping and resting. Mark Twain

Sleeping, Exercise, Taken

Saving faith is an immediate relation to Christ, accepting, receiving, resting upon Him alone, for justification, sanctification, and eternal life by virtue of God's grace. Charles Spurgeon

Life, Faith, Alone

Laziness is nothing more than the habit of resting before you get tired. Jules Renard

Tired, Laziness, Habit

On the plains of hesitation lie the blackened bones of countless millions who at the dawn of victory lay down to rest, and in resting died. Adlai E. Stevenson

Lie, Victory, Rest

You know, I think of the global economy as an inverted triangle, resting on the shoulders of the American consumer. And if the American consumer cannot have enough disposable income in order to maintain a standard of living that creates more opportunities generation after generation, that's bad for everybody. Hillary Clinton

Bad, Enough, Living

After all, the best part of a holiday is perhaps not so much to be resting yourself, as to see all the other fellows busy working. Kenneth Grahame

Best, Yourself, Busy

Resting on your laurels is as dangerous as resting when you are walking in the snow. You doze off and die in your sleep. Ludwig Wittgenstein

Sleep, Snow, Die

A babe in the house is a well-spring of pleasure, a messenger of peace and love, a resting place for innocence on earth, a link between angels and men. Martin Farquhar Tupper

Love, Peace, Men

I get a lot of the ideas when I'm resting - either when I'm meditating or getting some kind of work done on my back, like physical therapy or acupuncture. That's where I get my best ideas, maybe because I'm balancing my body. Katy Perry

Work, Best, Done

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

Else, Until, Playing

I'm always trying to do stuff I haven't done before or challenge myself so I'm not resting on my laurels all of the time because if I just found my little niche and never left it, I'd be pretty boring, I think. Zooey Deschanel

Time, Boring, Done

Not a having and a resting, but a growing and becoming, is the character of perfection as culture conceives it. Matthew Arnold

Character, Culture, Growing

My girlfriend is much better than I am at working hard then resting, and she demands that from me, too. She insists on having time when we don't do anything. We leave the housework and watch a movie. Cynthia Nixon

Time, Hard, Working

I guess I just have one of those resting faces that makes me look like I want to beat you up. Jeremy Renner

Makes, Guess, Beat

As I hope it doesn't come to the point where I need to take a day off. I feel pretty good right now and I'm not resting or saving for any other game. Tim Duncan

Good, Hope, Game

A man's motive in the small actions of daily life, like resting a moment on his pitchfork in the sun and listening intently, may be the most important thing about that man. Haniel Long

Life, Daily, May

Resting for me is fitness training. Jenson Button

Fitness, Training

We humans have lost the wisdom of genuinely resting and relaxing. We worry too much. We don't allow our bodies to heal, and we don't allow our minds and hearts to heal.

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/resting.html#DADE37VR9mFH35f6.99

I have never taken any exercise except sleeping and resting. Mark Twain

Sleeping, Exercise, Taken

Saving faith is an immediate relation to Christ, accepting, receiving, resting upon Him alone, for justification, sanctification, and eternal life by virtue of God's grace. Charles Spurgeon

Life, Faith, Alone

Laziness is nothing more than the habit of resting before you get tired. Jules Renard

Tired, Laziness, Habit

On the plains of hesitation lie the blackened bones of countless millions who at the dawn of victory lay down to rest, and in resting died. Adlai E. Stevenson

Lie, Victory, Rest

You know, I think of the global economy as an inverted triangle, resting on the shoulders of the American consumer. And if the American consumer cannot have enough disposable income in order to maintain a standard of living that creates more opportunities generation after generation, that's bad for everybody. Hillary Clinton

Bad, Enough, Living

After all, the best part of a holiday is perhaps not so much to be resting yourself, as to see all the other fellows busy working. Kenneth Grahame

Best, Yourself, Busy

Resting on your laurels is as dangerous as resting when you are walking in the snow. You doze off and die in your sleep. Ludwig Wittgenstein

Sleep, Snow, Die

A babe in the house is a well-spring of pleasure, a messenger of peace and love, a resting place for innocence on earth, a link between angels and men. Martin Farquhar Tupper

Love, Peace, Men

I get a lot of the ideas when I'm resting - either when I'm meditating or getting some kind of work done on my back, like physical therapy or acupuncture. That's where I get my best ideas, maybe because I'm balancing my body. Katy Perry

Work, Best, Done

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

Else, Until, Playing

I'm always trying to do stuff I haven't done before or challenge myself so I'm not resting on my laurels all of the time because if I just found my little niche and never left it, I'd be pretty boring, I think. Zooey Deschanel

Time, Boring, Done

Not a having and a resting, but a growing and becoming, is the character of perfection as culture conceives it. Matthew Arnold

Character, Culture, Growing

My girlfriend is much better than I am at working hard then resting, and she demands that from me, too. She insists on having time when we don't do anything. We leave the housework and watch a movie. Cynthia Nixon

Time, Hard, Working

I guess I just have one of those resting faces that makes me look like I want to beat you up. Jeremy Renner

Makes, Guess, Beat

As I hope it doesn't come to the point where I need to take a day off. I feel pretty good right now and I'm not resting or saving for any other game. Tim Duncan

Good, Hope, Game

A man's motive in the small actions of daily life, like resting a moment on his pitchfork in the sun and listening intently, may be the most important thing about that man. Haniel Long

Life, Daily, May

Resting for me is fitness training. Jenson Button

Fitness, Training

We humans have lost the wisdom of genuinely resting and relaxing. We worry too much. We don't allow our bodies to heal, and we don't allow our minds and hearts to heal.

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/resting.html#DADE37VR9mFH35f6.99My husband had a writer's conference in Fort Worth last week for a couple of days, so I tagged along, while he worked I played at the Modern Art Museum.

My husband had a writer's conference in Fort Worth last week for a couple of days, so I tagged along, while he worked I played at the Modern Art Museum.

Today's painting is a corner of our room at the Renaissance Hotel where we were staying. You can tell it's our room—not to mention names—because those are someone's shoes left sitting out in the middle of the room, just waiting for someone else to trip over in the middle of the night. Just kidding dear, they actually add a human touch.

I painted a similar piece a couple of years ago from this same hotel. I love painting those dark moody shadows and muted colors illuminated by the light of one lone lamp. The ambiance of this wonderful getaway is enchanting, but it sure makes me feel like Cinderella coming home from the ball. Oh well, time to take off that glass slipper...hi-ho, hi-ho...it's back to Conroe I go. 

Thanks for resting and relaxing with me for a spell. 
 -nancy 

PS: If you're in the Fort Worth TX area, be sure to visit the Modern Art Museum. It's like walking on water literally. The current exhibit, Mexico Inside Out: Themes in Art Since 1990 was extremely powerful and one I will never forget.

___________________________________________________________________

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