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

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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

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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Long Shadows on Longmire Road

"Long Shadows on Longmire Road" 16x20" Oil on stretched canvas

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 "Dreaming or awake, we perceive only events that have meaning to us." —Jane Roberts

This stretch of Longmire Road, where I walk my dog in the early evenings, never ceases to stop me dead in my tracks. If you think I'm making this up, here's the photo I snapped on my phone. I admit I've taken a little artistic license in the painting and did push the colors a tad, but isn't it an enchanted spot?

This is a place where if you become very quiet and listen carefully you can hear deep within a melody of gratefulness begin to arise.

It's also at this mysterious and serene time of day, that two age-old antagonists—light and darkness—enter the arena for another showdown. Light grabs hold tight, while the determined opponent attacks in quick jabs, stabs, pulls and stretches. When little resistance is left, darkness delivers one final death defying blow that flattens into dark rivers and flat puddles of flickering shadow. Light, admitting defeat, lays lifeless until dawn.                                                                                            "In the twilight of life, God will not judge us on our earthly possessions and human success, but rather on how much we have loved." —John of the Cross

       Thanks for coming along on my walk today.
       nancy  
       
       © 2013 nancy parsons

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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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