Mother of Sorrows

"Mater Dolorosa" 20x20", oil on stretched canvas

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Is there one who would not weep,
'Whelmed in miseries so deep, 
Christ's dear Mother to behold?

Can the human heart refrain

From partaking in her pain,

In that mother's pain untold?

Stabat Mater - 13th-century medieval Latin hymn 

on the suffering of the Virgin Mary at the Crucifixion.

This painting is an ekphrastic response to a photograph—a friend of mine took—of a statue of Blessed Mary found in the Franciscan Church of the Annunciation in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Mary is holding the lifeless body of her Son, who has been placed in her arms, after being taken down from the cross. 

I have rarely seen Mary depicted crying, and was deeply moved by her tearful eyes as she experienced her deepest sorrow, as foretold by Simeon at Christ's Presentation, "And you yourself a  sword will pierce". This is a grief which can only be known by a mother who has experienced the loss of a child, especially her only child. 

Here are some of stages of development:

#1. Drawing and initial block in
of Mary's face and darkest darks

#2. Begin working on skin tones, Jesus barely
visible in lower corner, background and lightest areas

#3. Further development of Mary's skin
tones, folds of fabric  

#4. Finalized, added the foot of the cross
behind Mary.

As our mother, Mary also shares in the sorrow and pain of today's world. It gives me great hope to know she is here, and suffers right alongside all of us, in the darkness of our world. She is a light of hope, the perfect example of strength, faith, trust and courage to hold onto. 

I have worked on this piece for over a year. Today is the Memorial of our Sorrowful Mother, so it seems fitting to present my/our Mother. 

—nancy

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At Ease

"At Ease", 18x24" oil on gallery wrap canvas

"At rest, however, in the middle of everything is the sun."

— Nicolaus Copernicus

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I've been working on this painting for the past couple of weeks. The photo I used was another from the amazing photographs at Vineyard Colors.

I was drawn to paint it for several reasons. First, I am always attracted to strong patterns of light and dark; the colors and somber mood entranced me; while the quiet solitude of resting boats, anchored in trust and faith that the sun will return, resonated with my tired soul moored along still waters at the end of day. 

William Penn said, "True silence is the rest of the mind, and is to the spirit what sleep is to the body, nourishment and refreshment. For me a day without long periods of silence is a day I was not fully present. "Be still and know that I am God." 

At ease mates,
nancy


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SOLD - Big Momma and Little Jack

Big Momma and Jack, 6x6" oil on gessobord

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STEP 1 Tone the panel and roughly sketch with turp and umber.

STEP 2
Working with thin paint, loosely begin laying in skin tones

"A baby is God's opinion that life should go on."

— Carl Sandburg

STEP 3
Continue laying in large flat areas and shapes of local color

STEP 4

Still working with thin paint, refining shapes, values, and larger details.

This is the hardest stage for me, I always start having doubts and 

think it not going to work.

 STEP 5
Making adjustments to drawing and begin to define with thicker applications of paint 

This is a commissioned painting, I have been working on from a photo reference of a tender moment captured between a great-grandmother holding her sweet great-grandson. 

I seem to be doing more figurative work lately, so I thought I'd share my step-by-step painting process with you to show how one of my paintings developed from start to finish. See steps 1-6 on right.  

The entire process took me about 12 hours to complete. I am learning more and more each day, and still have a long way to go, but I am having a heck of a lot of fun.

I also want to invite you to browse my NEW Website. I am so excited to be able to now offer my paintings for purchase as fine prints, canvases, note cards etc. Simply click on one of the paintings on my website to see all of the options available. It's so easy. Check it out here. 

If there is a specific painting  in my gallery you're interested that is not being shown on the website, just let me know and I will make it available for printing as well.

Thanks for letting me share.

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

• Graphic Design Studio 

STEP 6 
Continue refining adding highlights, adjusting edges, accentuate details, using thickest applications of paint.

SOLD -Face It

Face It", 6x6", oil on gessobord

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"Facing it, always facing it, that's the way to get through. Face it." — Joseph Conrad

This photo was taken over the July 4th weekend on the Riverwalk in San Antonio, TX. Those tourists are three of my sisters (one is partially hidden by the first sister) and two brothers-in-law fighting their way along the crowded walkway. I am sure none of them are going to recognize their faces in the painting but let's face it, faces are really hard to nail, especially on such a small canvas. 

I've included to the right, the Notan study I created for the painting. Notan is a Japanese term meaning harmony of dark and light. This is the latest challenge posted on DailyPaint Works. 

The first instruction was to create a black and white sketch before beginning the painting that divides everything into either pure white light, or a solid black Heart of Darkness. Easier said then done!

Instead of sketching my Notan by hand as instructed, I took my original photo into Photoshop, and used the threshold adjustment tool to experiment with the light and dark patterns. Once I was happy with the resulting patterns, I printed it out, and tweaked a bit with a marker to further eliminate any remaining mid-tone values still visible. 

Next, I used the study as a guide for the painting being careful to keep all the colors in their preassigned places. I am happy to report, they minded just like little kids on their first day of school. I was pleased with the result. Pretty cool technique! 

Thanks for strolling by today. 

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

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

Flower Power

"Flower Power" 6x8" Oil on canvas panel

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I snapped the photo for this painting in my garden several years ago but never painted it. That's probably cause I didn't feel comfortable painting flowers back then. However, now that I have been painting most everyday for over a year, I am getting braver. I can't remember if these are Black Eyed Susans or Rudbekias, so I am calling this one Flower Power. Must be the influence of a book I just finished reading about the sixties. "Those were the days my friends..."

Thanks for viewing my work!

nancy 

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