"After Dinner Mints"

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"After Dinner Mints" 5x7" Oil on canvas board

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These three cordial were given to us by my mother-in-law. I love the soft minty hues and the way light sparkles and bounces through the glass. They appear to be at a formal ball, dancing a minute in triple time. The pale green one is getting ready to cut in, while pastel wallflowers stand in a row waiting to be asked onto the floor.

Of course, they also do a great job delivering an after dinner licquer...every now and then...and again.

Thanks for viewing my work.

- nancy

"Hide 'n Seek"

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"Hide 'n Seek" 6x6" Oil on canvas board

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I painted this one a few months ago but thought I'd go ahead and post it. These bright red cherries were in the middle of a game with one cherry still left to be found. Thank you for peeking in on this painting.  - nancy  

""Mirror, Mirror..."

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"Mirror, Mirror..." 6x8" oil on canvas board
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My Knockout Roses are still blooming in spite of the near freezing temps this week. The little silver teapot was given to me by my grandmother years ago. The reflection of the rose on its side was a near perfect mirrored image..."a rose, is a rose, is a rose."

I finally worked the bugs out of my feed burner service, so if you have signed up as a "Subscriber" on my blog, you will now begin receiving direct feeds.

Thank you for viewing my work.

nancy

"Bases Loaded"

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"Bases Loaded" 8x6" Oil on canvas board
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Orange you glad it's not another "apple"? It was fun painting the runner on 1st base with half his body peeking through the glass. In hindsight, I should have used a blue pitcher instead of the glass. If you didn't hear, the Oranges took the Blues 3-4 in overtime.

Thanks for viewing my painting. - nancy

"Bobbing For Apple"

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"Bobbing Apple" 6x8" oil on canvas board
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"An apple a day... "I hope you all aren't getting tired of seeing red apples. I love painting them and liked the way this one turned out. This is what real "transparency" is suppose to look like. ; ) Thanks for viewing my work. - Nancy

"Hostage"

Poor helpless little lime is being held hostage by those two overpowering red apples...especially the one holding the gun, aiming at her head. She is turning away and trying to run away but got trapped by the lip of the plate. In spite of all the violence, I love the bright intensity of colors.... my values also seem to be working. : ) 

"Hostage" 6x8" Oil on canvas board
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...Two More Studies

Here are the last two studies I painted in my Carol Marine workshop. I was focusing on complimentary color schemes for added impact and pop. That little red fruit in the second one may look like a cherry but in fact it was a small crab apple, you could have fooled me. 

If you would like to continue to be alerted to my future blog posts, be sure to hit the subscribe button on the right and sign on. Thank you for viewing my paintings.

"Two Against One" 6x8" Oil on canvas panel
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"Just A Spot of Red" 6x8" Oil on canvas panel
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San Antonio Painting Workshop

I headed back on down the highway all last week for a five day painting workshop in San Antonio with one of my favorite still-life artists, Carol Marine. I worked hard and learned so much my brain hurts but hopefully my work will show the benefits. I had a great time and had my fill of some to-die-for Tex-Mex in the Alamo city.
My graphic design business got really busy the end of 2010, so I am behind in painting and posting. However, my New Years resolution is to paint on a daily basis, so you'll be seeing much more work from me on a regular basis. Here is one of the studies I painted in my workshop. In this lesson we were only allowed to put down one simple stroke of any one color at a time before mixing a new color and applying another stroke. It was a great lesson in noticing subtle value shifts of color.
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"The Big Apple" 6x8" Oil on canvas board

 

"Colter Bay Serenity" Jackson Lake, WY

"Colter Bay Serenity" 24x18" Oil on canvas

Thanks to all who attended my gallery show last week. We had a great turnout of over 125 people, 6 paintings sold along with 14 of my little blog books. The most common comment I heard all night was how surprised everyone was by how much brighter the paintings are in real life. Guess I need to work on some better reproductions. The painting above was included in the show, the last one from my summer series, or at least for now. I still have lots of photos that I want to paint from but I want to get back to working on some more 6x6" still-lifes.

Dave and I have started planning what highways we can head on down next summer. We'll be taking a new addition along with us, a used 17 ft. canoe.

I am slammed right now with end of the year graphic design work but do plan to carve out time each day to continue painting. I will start auctioning off the new still-lifes on my ebay store over the next few weeks. Click here to view my portfolio www.flickr.com/nancyparsons.

"Morning Reveille"

"Morning Reveille"  18x24" Oil on canvas

This week's painting features another one of the old abandoned trucks that I saw in a campground we stayed at in Santa Fe last summer. Standing alone in an empty field with one broken headlight, reflecting the first rays of the rising sun, this old timer stands tall in his rusty shell saluting the morning sun. It sort of reminds me of one of the war heroes seen hobbling on a cane, or in a wheelchair proudly saluting the flag on Veteran's Day. While this truck was found in Santa Fe, the scenery was taken from a photo I shot in Montana. The quiet stillness of the landscape just seemed to invite the company of this unsung hero. Anybody have any idea what the year and make of my model might be?

Don't forget Head on Down the Highway one-woman-art show starts this week, and runs for three days only, Thurs.-Sat. at The Linda Watson Gallery located at 204 North Main St. here in Conroe. Gallery hours are 8-5 Mon.-Fri., Artist's Reception is Sat. from 6:30 - 9 p.m., with a short reading from my new blog book at 7:00 p.m.  Hope to see you there. Here is a link to the gallery and a map The Linda Watson Gallery

Head on Down t...

Nancy Parsons

By Nancy

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Bales of Bounty

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. This painting was taken from a photo I shot in Montana last summer. I have a total love for hay bales! Seeing them scattered neatly about an empty field, makes me reflect on how they mirror our own lives. We are sown from tiny seeds placed on the earth, provided all that we need to grow to fullness and completion. Then, once reaped, fall gently back to the ground to be gathered up into a bountiful harvest. Each bale representing the abundance of a life well lived. I think this painting is appropriate for the season of thanksgiving and a reminder of the blessings and gift of all life.

"Bales of Bounty" 18x24" Oil on canvas

Head on Down t...

Nancy Parsons

By Nancy

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Yellowstone River

"Yellowstone River" 18x24" Oil on canvas

I was so grateful to have recently had my dear friend and accomplished painter, Rene' Wiley of the Rene' Wiley Gallery in Galveston, drop by for a visit and to critique some of my work. It was wonderful to see her and an invaluable experience to have had her well-trained artist's eye, point out some areas for improvement. I was so appreciative and learned much. As an example, "Yellowstone River" above is a new piece that I was working on. After talking with Rene', I ended up cooling the dark hills in the mid ground by graying that area slightly, and also warming the colors in the pine trees in the foreground. Just those two simple temperature adjustments alone really helped to create a greater sense of depth. So now, I am making some additional tweaks to several other pieces. You'll have to come to my show to see the improvements, Dec. 2-4 at The Linda Watson Gallery in Conroe.

Head on Down t...

Nancy Parsons

By Nancy

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NEW Book Release

My painting for this week is of a couple of young boys turning rocks over in a beautiful little creek near Jenny Lake. It's close to Jackson Lake, WY, and one of our favorite places that we visited last summer. You can view the painting below. 

I am also including a link to my little blog book. The book contains all the postings, paintings and photos from my Head on Down the Highway Blog. If you click on the cover, you will be able to open the book, enlarge it and read all 120 pages. If you would like a copy, I will also have the books for sale at my art show Dec. 2-4.  

Head on Down t...

Nancy Parsons

By Nancy

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"Rock Hunters" 24x18" Oil on canvas

"Wide Open Spaces"

"Wide Open Spaces" 18x24" oil on canvas

The gate is wide open for you to step into another view of Montana's Bear Tooth Mountains, as seen along the road on the way to Red Lodge. I have so many wonderful photos to choose from, it's difficult trying to decide which one to paint next. You can view this painting, along with others from the blog, in my upcoming "Head on Down the Highway" art show, Dec. 2-4. Here's all the details, so mark the dates and get it on your calendar now.

Montana Memories

"Montana Blues" 24x18" oil on canvas

The quality of light and color is so pure and bright in Montana, especially when seen in reflections on the water. Here are the two paintings I worked on this week from photos I snapped on our journey. I am seeing it all in my mind's eye and feeling the warm glow .... I just wish I could have painted them while standing on the shore.

"Cabin Fervor" 7x5" oil on canvas

"Montana Blues" will be a part of my upcoming show Dec. 4th at The Linda Watson Gallery. To view my portfolio click here www.flickr.com/nancyparsons

Hot Off The Palette

"Early Morning Solitude" 18x24" Oil on Canvas

"Pomegranate Promenade" 6x6" Oil on canvas board

"Choose your partners dos ado!" It's the pomegranate and persimmon hoedown, going on inside this little square of a canvas floor. These are the same two persimmons you met in last week's painting. I had more fun this week finding out what they look like on the inside. I have only eaten one other persimmon in my lifetime but it made me pucker something awful. To my surprise and utter delight, these were delicious and sweeter than honey. This painting is up for bid on my eBay Store. If you would like to place a bid click here http://stores.ebay.com/Nancy-Parsons-Oil-Paintings 

Meanwhile, back on down the highway, "Early Morning Solitude" (above) was painted from a photograph I took last summer in Montana. I loved the way this little house/farm was tucked away deep inside rolling hills with the Bear Tooth mountains looming on the horizon. I sure would love to live there. This piece will be included in my upcoming show at The Linda Watson Gallery in Conroe Dec. 2-4. 

To view my entire portfolio click on http://www.flickr.com/photos/nancyparsons

Paintings of the Week

"Quiet Reflections" 24x18" Oil on Canvas

This larger piece, for my upcoming show, was painted from the photo above. I only used a few of the boats that were actually there in order to emphasis the peaceful serenity I felt standing on the pier in the early morning at Jackson Lake. That's the great thing about being an artist you can pick and choose which parts you want to keep and those you want to omit. I just love all the quiet mirror reflections on the water. And next, thank you to my friend Leona, my still-life for this week is a couple of very happy young persimmons "Going into the Chapel of Love"... They make such a handsome couple.

"Chapel of Love" 6x6" oil on canvas board

2 New Paintings

"Montana Fields Ablaze" 18x24" Oil on Canvas

I painted this first one from a photo taken during our summer fun-in-the-sun. The hay fields must have been taking a rest from a recent harvest and had begun sprouting tiny red orange wild flowers that cast a blanket of hue across the land, making it look like it had been stripped bare, rubbed raw and left bleeding like an open scraped wound.

"Cobalt Echoes" 6x6" Oil on Canvas board

Like those crazy Fun Houses we went into as kids, "Cobalt Echoes" reveals mirrored images on the side of a coffee cup. Images that stretch and bend, twist and warp with the refraction of light ... creating reflections... that remind me how distorted and fractured our own vision can be.

To view these images in my portfolio click on www.flickr.com/nancyparsons

Two New Small Paintings

"Afternoon Delight"  5x7" Oil on Board  $100

Here are a couple new small still lifes that I have been working on this week. The glass bottle was so fun to paint, I love the way light reflects and through glass in a mosaic pattern...just spots of color laying next to spots of color.

"Momma Mango"  6x6" Oil on canvas board  $100

When playing around with the mango and limes for this still life, I was struck by how the twin limes could pass for mango babies. Don't they look like they are being fed by a surrogate momma mango?

I am also working on some larger landscapes for my show Dec. 2-4 at the Linda Watson Gallery in Conroe. I am thrilled to report that since our return home on Aug. 15th, 22 paintings have now found their way into new homes.

To view my fine art portfolio www.flickr.com/nancyparsons 

To purchase one of these paintings, e-mail me at njparsons@suddenlink.net

Painting and Poem "Greener Glasses"

 “Greener Glasses” Oil on canvas 6x6"

Sucking on thin cool slices of lemon 

or lime from glasses of iced tea, looking

for a crack in the face of late

September heat, the cooler days of fall

and winter brewing winds, the aroma

of steamy espresso served in dainty

white ceramic cups with matching saucers

sipped on frosty blue mornings, warming

hands while longing for summer

to chase away the chill, slices

of measured time that will again

require another lime.

–Nancy Parsons

I thought I'd try a slightly different approach to my little paintings by also writing a poem about the subject matter of the painting. This is my first attempt at ekphrasis art. I am hoping to include a poem for each painting from now on so the viewer can have a little insight into my inspiration and thoughts about the piece. Hope you enjoy it. 

To view my fine art portfolio www.flickr.com/nancyparsons 

3 NEW PAINTINGS

  

"On Golden Pasture" 7.5x12" Oil on canvas board

Standing in the cool summer shade on Lovers Lane in Absarokee, MT... as if by an invisible magic wand... the late afternoon sun painted a green pasture into a shining sea of wall-to-wall golden carpet right before my very eyes. I couldn't wait to capture this one on canvas.

"The Great and Powerful Oz" 7x5" Oil on canvas

The three cherries in this next painting remind me of the Tin Man, Scarecrow, and the Cowardly Lion as they stand alongside little Dorothy in her blue and white apron. They are all shaking in their boots before the Powerful Oz who has just spoken.  

"Shady Sid of the Shed" 7x5' Oil on canvas

This colorful little shed sits in spotted shade under tall billowy firs at the Fish Camp in Absarokee, MT. An old rusty barrel and a wheelbarrow sit with ears pressed flat up against its wooden sides, listening for the faint soft hum of the shed singing along in time to the chorus of the Rosebud River flowing nearby.

These paintings are now up for bid on my eBay Store. If you would like to place a bid click http://stores.ebay.com/Nancy-Parsons-Oil-Paintings  To view my entire portfolio click on http://www.flickr.com/photos/nancyparsons/?saved=1

RECENT WORKS BY NANCY PARSONS

"In the Lime Light" 5x7" Oil on panel

"Snuggle Up" 10x8" Oil on panel

"Take a Bow" 5x7" Oil on panel

Thought I'd post a few of my recent small paintings of a very showy little red apple and an admiring company of tangerines . I am adding these paintings to the auction posting on my eBay Store at http://stores.ebay.com/Nancy-Parsons-Oil-Paintings I am hoping to start adding a few small paintings every week or so.

If you are interested in bidding on one of the Head on Down the Highway paintings, the auction is closing in another day or two.

If you are sick on being on the highway with me and would just like to get out of this vehicle, stretch your legs, and stop all these blogs, hit this link njparsons@suddenlink.net and simply type "Remove me from the List" in the subject line and I'll drop you off at the next corner... after all I kidnapped you and have been holding you hostage long enough.  : )