Bend in the Road

"Bend in the Road", 10x8", oil on gessobord

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Sunlight is painting.—Nathaniel Hawthorne

I snapped the reference photo for this painting in Montana right at the golden hour. The sun, rapidly setting behind the distant mountains was sweeping light like magic to create long shadows across the landscape. The tree along the bend in the road was totally lit up in the glow of the moment. This was one of those instances in your life when you know—beyond a shadow of a doubt—you were exactly where you were suppose to be at that precise moment in time...my soul on fire with joy. 

Thank you for following my work.
—nancy

To see more of my art click Online Gallery • Email  • Website  •  Graphic Design Studio • Fine Art America

Bounty

"Bounty" 8x10", oil on gessobord

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"The best way to know God is to love many things."

—Vincent Van Gogh

Nothing in a landscape makes me smile more than to see stacks of freshly baled hay dotting the horizon along a country farm road. This painting was of a photo I took in Montana over the summer. I could paint hay stacks over and over again. I wonder if Monet and Van Gogh might have had a similar obsession? 

Seeing bales scattered across a field gives me an inner sense of peace, causing me to reflect on the bounty of our own lives. To me, these gravestone-like-monuments are symbols representing lives of ultimate survival on the battlefield called life. Threatened by extreme weather, violent storms, lack of water, too much water, fighting off weeds and pests, the hay—with with all of its imperfections—is harvested at the perfect moment, and gathered into the bounty of a full life in all of its glory. 

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, what a perfect time to give thanks for the gift of our lives, where one day, our fruits too will be rolled into glowing bales.

Thanks for viewing,

nancy

To see more of my art click Online Gallery • Email  • Website  •  Graphic Design Studio • Fine Art America

Billie in the Bluebonnets

"Billie", Oil on gessobord, 9x12"
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"Sometimes,  when I see my granddaughters make small discoveries of their own, I wish I were  a child."  —Dr. Seuss

This portrait was painted for a dear friend of her beautiful granddaughter, Billie, posed in one of the many fields of bluebonnets here in East Texas every spring.

I haven't painted much over the past year or so. I tend to beat myself up for not picking up my brushes, but have come to accept the fact that there really is a time and a season for everything. Nothing stays the same, things come and go at certain unforeseen periods of our lives and we are powerless to try and resist.

I feel my soul has been wondering in a dry desert...which is not a bad thing. I recognized the need for desert time and gave myself permission to honor that space. I believe this has been a period of gestation and rebirth. I am hopeful this is the budding of a new spring with renewed energy, creativity and discovery. The best is yet to be!

Thank you for viewing.
-nancy

To see more of my art click here, or one one of these additional links: Online Gallery • Email  • Website  •  Graphic Design Studio • Saatchi Gallery • Fine Art America

Pondering on a Pond

"Pondering a Pond", 12x24" oil on canvas

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There are always flowers for those who want to see them.
— Henri Matisse

I literally pause and let out an aah every time I pass by this watery oasis, which sits juxtaposed at the intersection of a major highway and a clover leaf exit off of a farm road, sandwiched between a business and railroad tracks. I've been driving past it for years, trying in vain to figure a way to gain access into this private sanctuary to paint it.

Swearing profusely that she never saw the "No Trespassing" sign until she was leaving, my friend Angela blatantly hopped a fence onto the property to photograph it after I casually mentioned my dilemma. A friend indeed, and to my total delight, the next thing I know she is sending me inside and close up photos of my masked refuge. This shot was earlier in the spring as the morning fog still blanketed the dried lingering remains of last years reeds and the barely visible new growth of water grasses softly emerging from its murky depths. 

How I wish I could live in a little cabin on the banks of this tiny haven and paint her ever-changing mirrored portrait over and over, day after day. I love the way the reeds, slumping over like exhausted guards, delineate the pond into channels of watery reflections of surrounding forest, sky and clouds. What a hidden gem coexisting side by side in the mundane of our busy lives...aah! 

Thanks for viewing my secret botanical garden. 
nancy 

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

Praise For The Morning

"Praise For The Morning", 8x10", oil on Gessobord

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"An early-morning walk is a blessing for the whole day."  

— Henry David Thoreau

I am happy to report the gallery show I was in last week was a huge success and packed all evening. And, my Trio in Triptych sold very quickly! It was such a fun night. Thanks to all who attended.

"Sun, sun, sun here it comes." Today's painting was taken from a photo snapped by my 5:00 a.m. lap swimming buddy, Angela, along a sunlit path on one of her early morning hikes around Santa Fe. She so generously allows me the honor to interpret her work in oils.

The sun was such a powerful player in the photo; I decided to try a new approach using thick paint applied with a palette knife. I usually paint very thin, so this was my first attempt to paint with a palette knife. I have to admit it felt very awkward and clumsy, however on a positive note, it facilitated a more abstract piece and added more emphasis in the sky and sun. I had a lot of fun with it. 

It's hard for me to imagine missing a sunrise... the very best part of the day! Thank you Angela and cheers to all lovers of the early-morning light. 

nancy 

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

Clouds Got In My Way

"Clouds Got In My Way" 10x8" oil on museum quality Gessobord

"Forests, lakes, and rivers, clouds and winds, stars and flowers, stupendous glaciers and crystal snowflakes - every form of animate or inanimate existence, leaves its impress upon the soul of man."  — Orison Swett Marden

As I was painting this from a photo snapped by my friend Angela, it occurred to me these dense cumulus cloud formations are a perfect metaphor for life. 

Here we are all jolly-olly orange traveling on down the clear cut path, everything is going smoothly; we are surrounded by a brilliant blue dome and warm radiant light. Then suddenly, out of nowhere,  these immense dark threatening clouds appear, extending as far as we can see in an unending caravan of troubles and doubts. Sometimes stacking up in multiple tiers of shadows so gloomy and thick we forget that above it all, we are still surrounded by a veil of azure. Then, just as abruptly, there is a little break and the sun bursts through once more as we continue on down the yellow brick road like nothing ever happened. 

Lord Byron sums it up so well, "Be thou the rainbow in the storms of life, the evening beam that smiles the clouds away, and tints tomorrow with prophetic ray."

BTW: If you're in the Lake Conroe area, please visit my booth at the Bentwater Fine Arts Festival on Sunday, Sept. 28th from 10 a.m.-4:00 p.m. at the Yacht Club. I have a wide assortment of my oil paintings available for sale. Mention this post and receive 15% discount off any of my paintings. To gain entry to this free show call, 936-597-6219.

Thank you for rolling across my page today. 
nancy

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

Graceful Grazer

"Graceful Grazer" 16x20" Oil on stretched canvas

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"Horses make a landscape look beautiful."

—Alice Walker

Horses are so beautiful...they don't even look real. This landscape had little redeeming value, but this stepper totally charmed me.

I came across this beauty while searching for a place to park at Old Town Spring. This is a 1900s historic railroad town featuring antiques, galleries, gift/specialty shops and restaurants, located not far from where I live. 

I stopped there briefly over St. Patrick's Day weekend while the whistle-stop was crammed full of tourists. I had to park way in the back on a field near the railroad tracks. As I was getting out of my car, I looked up and was stopped dead in my tracks by this graceful creature grazing in a small pasture behind a little cabin/house. I'm lucky I didn't get shot walking around—basically trespassing—to snap some photos. Oh well, what's life if it's not a daring adventure? I had to take a chance, or miss an opportunity that might never trot my way again. 

Thanks for please not turning me over to the authorities. :  )

nancy
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Austin Workshop Day 3

"Bridging Gaps" After Colley Whisson,  9x12" oil on gessobord

This is the painting I did on Day 3 of the Colley Whisson workshop. It was another landscape from Australia of a river and road resting quietly under a busy bridge. Again we worked indoors at the Anderson Mill Museum from demos and photographs. 

We began each painting by blocking in the large areas of color and values, and then redefining these same areas in the next stage. In the final step, all that was needed was to add a few perfectly placed accent lines and marks here and there to simply indicate details.  Then suddenly...abracadabra presto chango...the painting took on a life!

Of course, this was all a lot harder than in sounds. Colley made the process look so effortless, but trust me it was extremely challenging and required much thought and diligence every step of the way.






Thank you for taking a moment to drop by.
nancy
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To see more of my art or to contact me: 
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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

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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
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SOLD -Fog Along the Bend

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

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

Breath of Spirit

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         "Best of all is to preserve everything in a pure, still heart, and let there be for every pulse a thanksgiving, and for every breath a song. — Konrad von Gesner

I haven't been able to paint as much as I would like lately. My world has been moving at a furious pace with design work demanding most all of my time. However yesterday, my spirit finally caught up with me... and I painted! 

 

I never seem to know what I am going to paint until I show up. It's interesting how the breath of inspiration always comes as a surprise visitor, spontaneous and unpredictable. Digging through photos of last summer, I came across this one from the Taos Ski Valley. I could again feel myself standing beside this bubbling mountain stream, soaking in the warm sunlight, as spirit summoned breath out of the dark sleepy shadows of late afternoon forest.  

Making time to wander in silence, my heart opens wide to inhale breath of spirit in all its mystery and splendor.

Thanks for pausing today to listen to my song and for viewing my painting.  

nancy
_____________________________________________________
To see more of my art or to contact me:  

Gallery  •  Blog  • NEW Website • E-mail  • Graphic Design Studio

SOLD -Santa Fe High

"Santa Fe High" 6x6" oil on canvas panel

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 "A desert is a place without expectation."

— Nadine Gordimer, novelist  

The mountains in this high desert sanctuary whispered my name this morning. I arose at dawn to celebrate another day in Santa Fe, a Spanish name meaning "Holy Faith." Santa Toledo! There is much to sing praises about in this sacred place.

I painted plein air this morning, just a few feet from our camp site. Try to imagine waking up to this breathtaking sight every morning. The mountains surround us on three sides which feels like a big blue hug. This has to be the closest thing to heaven, we have even had a family of cottontail bunny hopping around our camper.  

 

We leave today for northern NM on the Chama River, so stay tuned for more adventures.

Thanks for joining me today in the desert. 
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

River Reeds

"River Reeds" 6x6" oil on gessobord

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"Forests, lakes, and rivers, clouds and winds, stars and flowers, stupendous glaciers and crystal snowflakes - every form of animate or inanimate existence, leaves its impress upon the soul of man.


— Orison Swett Marde 

This river speaks to me, so I painted it again only larger this time. For some reason, lately I have been drawn to bends in roads and rivers. I love the idea of not knowing what lies ahead. At times, our path may narrow and trickle down leading us into quiet, serene expanses of time. Spaces where life comes to a crawl, we gaze speechless at a microcosm of life on the river's sandy bottom. Like peering through a microscope at a parallel world alive with tadpoles, minnows, tiny insects floating along carefree where water ripples and dances over rocks that divide into pools, reflecting all that is.

Sometimes our path widens around the next curve and sweeps us away on rolling rapids of swollen currents which toss us about. At times we have to grab for the tall reeds or low lying branches. Life becomes a blur of faces and events rushing by—a circus of acts performed in three rings—like an endless ride on a merry-go-round, we cry to get off. 

I am  enjoying the trickle down path we are on right now and know the best is yet to be right around the next bend. 

Thank you for letting me muse today.
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

Mighty Mini

"Mighty Mini 3.5x2.5" Oil canvas paper

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"An artist is always alone - if he is an artist. 
No, what the artist needs is loneliness." 
— Henry Miller 

"On the road again, going places that we've been before"...Yep, we've headed back on down the highway...and "looking for adventure." We arrived in Santa Fe yesterday, greeted by this dynamic sky hovering above the mountains. 

I had a rough start the day before we left having a molar extracted. I was so woozy trying to pack, I forgot all kinds of things. So, while Dave is out trying to find —a few basic supplies like—a coffee pot, eating utensils, food and toilet paper, I've been sitting alone in the camper painting this mini—2.5x3.5",  slightly bigger than a business card— painting above. I've never painted so small, but wanted to enter the Daily PaintWorks, "Paint It Small Challenge."   Sorry I don't have my scanner, so I will be photographing my work while on the road which means they will be blurry. 


I did want to say thank you to all of you who have sent me such lovely and heartfelt congratulations on being chosen DPW's Spotlight Artist of the Week. I appreciate so much, all of your thoughts which give me great encouragement. I've never been interviewed before, so this was really fun.



Thank you for viewing my painting from out west today.
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

Around the Bend

"Around the Bend" 6x6" oil on canvas panel. 
Painted from a photo by my friend, Angela Fletcher


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"The future influences the present just as much as the past."

— Friedrich Nietzsche 

Our futures are all just around that next bend in the road. This painting reminds me of all the hills and valleys I've crossed and climbed to get to this very spot on the road. Although the climbing seems to get harder and harder, the journey gets more and more interesting. I can't wait to see what's coming next. 

And, speaking of next we'll be Heading on Down the Highway next week for four glorious weeks of camping in total peace and solitude, living simply and musing in the wild. I'll be able to paint and blog every day, while my husband writes poetry and fly fishes. I am so excited I can hardly stand it!!! This year we'll be heading up to northwest New Mexico and then into Colorado with our Ma and Pa Kettle pop-up camper, which we lovingly refer to as our "retirement package."


Abraham Lincoln said, "The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time." I can't believe it's been two years since I started this blog on day one of our last trip in 2010. Today's post/painting is number 240! I never would have dreamed having a blog would have become such a fun and enjoyable part of my life. I have been especially blessed to have had over 33,883 visitors on this site from every corner of the world.


Life sure is an exciting and daring adventure. Thanks for joining me on my journey! See you around that next bend. 
 
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

Oneness

"Oneness" 6x6" oil on canvas panel

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"Quantum physics thus reveals a basic oneness of the universe."

— Erwin Schrodinger 

In this Daily PaintWorks challenge, the instructions were to look at the photo below and choose one word that describes the feeling you get and to render that feeling in a painting.

I chose the word "Oneness" because although every element in this scene on the surface may appear unique and unrelated—be it land, tree, mountain, water, sky, or figure—quantum physics tells us all life, energy, matter are all connected.

“The quantum field is the web that connects all life, energy, matter and existence into a single system. Everything we experience has a single interconnected source.”

Read more about Where Science and Buddhism Meet: Emptiness, Oneness and Nature of Reality - Part 2 [Video] on:
http://buddhist-meditation-techniques.com/where-science-and-buddhism-meet-emptiness-oneness-and-nature-of-reality-part-2-video/?utm_source=INK&utm_medium=copy&utm_campaign=share&

“The quantum field is the web that connects all life, energy, matter and existence into a single system. Everything we experience has a single interconnected source.”

Read more about Where Science and Buddhism Meet: Emptiness, Oneness and Nature of Reality - Part 2 [Video] on:
http://buddhist-meditation-techniques.com/where-science-and-buddhism-meet-emptiness-oneness-and-nature-of-reality-part-2-video/?utm_source=INK&utm_medium=copy&utm_campaign=share&

In order to capture this feeling in my painting, I first primed the canvas with a unifying wash of red. I decided to make gray the predominate color since gray is a mixture of all three primary colors red, blue and yellow. Then I used the gray in different values and combined small amounts of it with the other colors used in the painting. I also tried to keep the brush strokes as uniform as possible. I wanted all the different elements to reflect a commonality. Like pieces of a puzzle they all needed to fit together and connect atop the tinted background.

There is an underlying silence and unity at work here can you hear it?

Thanks for viewing my/our entry!  
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