Head on down the highway

“Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky.”

— Rabindranath Tagore

I snapped this photo at the Edward Sargent Wildlife Area lookout point in Chama, NM. The reserve is located at the base of the San Juan Mountains and covers 20,000 acres of wild high country extending to the Colorado border.

A short hike up a rocky mountain path lined with wildflowers leads to this viewing spot...the best place to watch elk graze. The herds follow the river into this area yearly during the summer migration. I was told if you get here right as the sun is setting, you can sometimes can hear the male elk bugling his mating call. It wasn't quite sunset while I was there, so I never saw or heard the elk, but loved the view. My spirit was filled with awe and wonder at the billowy mounds of fluffy white clouds picnicking across that enormous cobalt blue blanket of a sky. It was a visual feast.

Hope you enjoyed the scenery. Thanks for viewing my painting.

nancy
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Path of Light

Path of Light, 12x12", oil on stretched canvas

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“I watched the early morning light pass over and through the windows of colored glass, leaving streaks of red and green and yellow on the stone floor. When I was little, I used to try and capture the colored light. I thought I could hold it in my hand and carry it home. Now I know it is like happiness-- it is there or it is not, you cannot hold it or keep it.”

— Karen Cushman

I walk by this little cabin first thing each morning just as the sun cuts along the river's path on my way to the campground showers.

I couldn't resist painting this happy little slice in my current mountain world. The dull little structure sits adorned like a queen bedecked in jewels of Black-Eyed-Susans, clusters of miniature purple daisies and columbine. Standing guard on high alert is a small stand of shimmering aspen waving with fervor as I stroll by.

I kept thinking any minute Hansel and Gretel might come running out the door with the wicked witch in high pursuit.

My day started off royally and was a dandy!

Thanks for listening to my tales 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

Monday, August 6, 2012

SOLD -Light Into Darkness

" Light Into Darkness" 14x11" oil on stretched canvas

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“Each time dawn appears, the mystery is there in its entirety.” — Rene Dauml

This painting is what I looked out on each morning from our campsite in Chama, NM. Actually at the top of this hill was a puppy playground for campers to walk their dogs. I swear every RV must come equip with two dogs. Never one, always two. Anyway, I loved waking at the first crack of dawn and watching the sunlight roll in over the mountain tops and then drip it's course of light over the dark side of this hill like bright orange sticky molasses.

Thanks for rolling by today and for viewing my painting.
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 website:http://www.njparsons.fineartstudioonline.com
E-mail: njparsons@suddenlink.net

My graphic design studio: www.graphicdesigngroup.net

Thursday, August 2, 2012

San Juan River

"San Juan River" 6x6" oil on canvas panel
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"I shall be a master at this art only after a great deal of practice.”

— Erich Fromm

I finished up this painting from the bank of Colorado's San Juan River here in Pagosa Springs, just as those threatening clouds in my photo tried to rain on my parade. Luckily I was only about 25 yards from our camper and made it back dry as a bone. The forecast here is for rain everyday for the next week. UGH! Oh well, that's all part of camping.

It's been fun and challenging to paint rivers and streams for a change of pace. I hope you all don't get river sick. It's a wonderful opportunity for me to practice painting these inspiring mountain landscapes. I certainly never get to do that in Texas. The rivers all over New Mexico and Colorado are very low due to the drought from last year, however there is always a silver lining. The river is low but the rocks and sandy bottom comes alive—illuminated in the sunlight—with rich warm earth tones to complement the blue sky so perfectly.

Thank you following my trek around Pagosa Springs and for viewing my painting 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 website:http://www.njparsons.fineartstudioonline.com
E-mail: njparsons@suddenlink.net

My graphic design studio: www.graphicdesigngroup.net

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

SOLD -No Rock For A Stepper

"No Rock For a Stepper" 6x6" oil on canvas panel

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"You've got to follow your passion. You've got to figure out what it is you love--who you really are. And have the courage to do that. I believe that the only courage anybody ever needs is the courage to follow your own dream.”

— Oprah Winfrey

Here's a photograph of my easel with today's painting on location. This beautiful spot is where we spent the day yesterday on the shores of the Conejos River in southern Colorado. This mountainous and rocky area made me reflect on the power and purpose of rocks in our lives.

"So many things I would have done, but rocks got in my way."

Okay, so I took a few liberties with Judy Collins' 1967 hit song, but isn't it interesting how rocks block our paths from time to time on our journey down the river of life? They force us to slow down and reflect, or even stagnate into pools of indecisiveness for a time. We think we're stuck and can't—or won't—move forward, afraid and unsure of our course. We may lack the courage to move forward in spite of tugging currents nudging at our souls.

However, rocks also cause the flow of water to build energy and generate strength before propelling us forward into new stretches of the river out of our comfort zones. Rocks in our lives can be gifts that allow us the time to gather courage before navigating a change of course in a new direction. Where are you in the river?

Thank you for wading in the river with me today... and for viewing my work.

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 graphic design business: www.graphicdesigngroup.net

Monday, July 30, 2012

Canyon Colors

"Canyon Colors" 6x6" oil on canvas panel

"Creation is only the projection into form of that
which already exists.”
— Shrimad Bhagavatam

This is another view of the river from below the dam. After I painted yesterday's "Yellow Fellows" I thought I'd take a stab at the canyon walls downstream. It was very late in the afternoon and the light was fading, but I could still can see the amazing color in the rock formations. Don't believe the seemingly dull photo of Dave in the river fishing, the photo lies. Once you put on your imagination goggles and open your heart, the mountain reveals its true self and bears its soul to you in return.

Thank you for stopping by and viewing my work.

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 graphic design business: www.graphicdesigngroup.net

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Yellow Fellows

"Yellow Fellows" 6x6" oil on canvas panel

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“The mountains, rivers, earth, grasses, trees, and forests are always emanating a subtle, precious light, day and night, always emanating a subtle, precious sound, demonstrating and expounding to all people the unsurpassed ultimate truth.”
— Yuan-Sou

Here is another spot where we spent the day fishing, and for me, painting. I fell in love with the overflowing Easter basket of goodies—stretching down the middle of the river—rearranging water's path. The bright green grasses dotted with clumps of bold yellow wildflowers, swaying and dancing to the rhythm of the wind, immediately snagged at my heart-eye.

My photos frustrate me to no end—accentuated by my lack of skill and a good camera—appearing lifeless, frozen in time, capturing only a watered down partial truth which flattens, dilutes and distances the reality of what I am seeing and sensing. I wish you could have entered this sacred sanctuary with me to witness the energy moving through this part of canyon below the dam.

For me this painting whispers a truth this spot along the river longed to share. Although the photo of my painting is blurry, I received what I was fishing for.

Thank you for feeling my painting 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 graphic design business: www.graphicdesigngroup.net

Friday, July 27, 2012

Trout Fishing

"Rio Chama" 6x6" oil on canvas panel

"And when white moths were on the wing.

And moth-like stars were flickering out,

I dropped the berry in a stream

And caught a little silver trout."

— William Butler Yeats,
The Song of Wandering Aengus

We did some more exploring yesterday around the Chama area, by late afternoon we ended up at this local fishing spot on the Rio Chama, downstream a few miles from our campsite.

I loved painting this quiet scene from the bank above the river by a rickety old bridge. Tiny chipmunks scurried all around my easel munching on dry river grasses, deer grazed on the tender green grasses lining the banks, and a flock of geese soared in precise V-formation in the overcast sky. The only audible sound was the current of the river tripping over rocks in its course, which sounded like a symphony to me. Dave waded through the waters with line and hook for hours and never had a bite. I on the other hand caught a trout!

Thank you for coursing my waters 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 graphic design business: www.graphicdesigngroup.net

Thursday, July 26, 2012

Between Two Worlds

"Between Two Worlds" 11x17" oil on stretched canvas

"Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small jobs."

— Henry Ford

I spent another afternoon at Heron Lake on a hill above the marina. Dave was somewhere down the steep bank wading and casting his fly hoping to snag a fish. As soon as I had my easel set up, puddles of paint squeezed from the tubes, and had picked up a paint brush it started to rain, thunder and lightening. I stood there for 30 minutes huddled under my umbrella, but ended up soaking wet. The rain continued, so I finally moved my gear inside the entrance to the park restroom nearby. YUCK!!!...This was not a pleasant place to hang out with flies, but I was in no position to be picky. After an hour, the clouds finally parted and the sun began to start drying out my wet clothes. I finally finished my painting late in the day. This photo is not the best.

I don't know why the light in New Mexico is so different? For me the colors just seem to crystallize into facets of colors screaming at the top of their lungs. To paint it, you just have to break the job down into smaller pieces. I simply see the bits of color, mix paint to match, and place the small dabs where I see them. It's similar to working a jigsaw puzzle. Once you step back and view, it all somehow magically comes together. Fun, fun, fun!

Thanks for viewing my picture puzzle painting.

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 graphic design business: www.graphicdesigngroup.net

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Heron Lake

"Lake Heron Horizons 9x12" oil on canvas panel

"To be awake is to be alive."

— Henry David Thoreau

We spent all afternoon yesterday at Heron Lake in the State Park...sure could have passed for Walden's Pond. Dave fly fished and I painted the landscape. Heron Lake is a silent lake—no motorboats allowed—sailboats, kayak and canoes are the only ticket to boating on this pristine paradise. All afternoon there were dark threatening storm clouds marching in constant processions across the sky overhead. I managed to finish just as the thunder percussion section began pounding drum rolls and the lightening slashed in brilliant symbols across the mountains. It was a beautiful day spent alone in the silence of majestic wonder and awe.

We're heading back to the lake today. There are some high rock canyons that line another stretch of the lake, so you'll be seeing more paintings of Heron Lake very soon.

I really had fun painting this one and like the way the larger 9x12" piece turned out.

Thanks for pausing to reflect here 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 graphic design business: www.graphicdesigngroup.net

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Rivers and No Rivers

"River Walk Diners" 12x9" Oil on canvas panel

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"Sometimes, if you stand on the bottom rail of a bridge and lean over to watch the river slipping slowly away beneath you, you will suddenly know everything there is to be known."

— Winnie the Pooh, teddy bear

Here is another painting of the River Walk in San Antonio. This one took me three days to complete with so much detail. I've had quite a few folks interested in the previous River Walk painting I posted, so thought I'd do another.

The river here in Chama is very low at our campsite. We are hoping to find a better site to fish and paint in the local vicinity today. We were told last night that there have been bears—as in not teddy bears— coming through the site. EEKS!...and I always have to get up in the middle of the night and walk to the facilities. You can bet I'll be watching my back.

Thanks for floating by 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.