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Dear Art Friends,

This is an introduction to my art blog. I have wanted to do this for a long time because between commissions and large gallery paintings I do little oil sketches of ideas for future paintings or just small things of beauty that strike me at odd moments. Because I paint every day, after a while, these little canvases add up. So I thought I would share them with you. I will be sending them out about every week or two. If you enjoy them, please forward them to friends on your email list. If you do not want to be bothered, no problem just cancel the blog.

So, please consider joining my weekly newsletter (see link below).

Thanks, Nancy Paris Pruden

Poppies in the Garden

4/25/2017 9:47:20 PM | By Nancy Paris Pruden | Comment on this

A GENEROUS GIFT

On the country road leading into Round Top, Texas, if you look left you will see a small house with a large bed of flowers in front. The locals tell me a retire man plants the flowers which he changes often, but in the Spring, there are always huge beds of Poppies! A few weeks ago I finally had time to stop and knock on his door. What a lovely man! He said his mother use to love gardening and after he retired he decided to take up the hobby. "People are always stopping by and taking photos and even had a few Wedding pictures taken in the garden", he said smiling. "Please come any time to paint or just enjoy my garden." So I took him up on it last week, but now I understand there is a Red Poppy Festival in Georgetown as well. It seems that a WWI soldier sent some poppy seeds home to his mother and through the years they have spread to yards and vacant lots all over town. Red poppies have been a part of Georgetown's landscape for almost 100 years and each April they celebrate the flowers with a Tour, Cooking and Art Competitions and even a Hole in One Ball Drop. Not to be outdone, Round Top had a Craw-fish Boil last weekend, with music, an Art Walk, and their Antique Fairs every Spring and Fall are not to be missed. Generosity seems to spread like poppy seeds in small towns all over this state and sharing their beauty just comes naturally.

A Place That Inspires

4/19/2017 11:16:21 PM | By Nancy Paris Pruden | 1 Comment

A PLACE THAT INSPIRES

Once again, Dear Hollee, invited the painting class to her delightful little bit of Texas history. She just found out that the house was older than they thought and was actually built some time in the 1870's, after discovering that the foundation was made from logs. The rest of us think it was built from laughter, but regardless, it is a place filled with joy and that is what inspires us all. This year, Kathy and I decided to drive up to the" high point" and paint away from the house and gardens. I set up my easel, tucked into a thicket, looking out over the fence at the hills of the neighbor's property. They had mowed along the property line and flowers and fresh mowed grass made a path along the fence line. I liked the way it led you to the trees and then to the light field of the hill beyond. Not sure this little plein air does it justice so think I will paint it bigger. That is the main value of these little sketches. To remind you of something that struck you as beautiful. Isn't Beauty what inspires most of us?

Tulips In Chinese Vase

4/12/2017 10:08:29 PM | By Nancy Paris Pruden | Comment on this

PAINTING FLOWERS

Flower painting comes with it's own special problems...namely they wilt, or open too soon,or change shapes in the wind,or as is the case with tulips and sunflowers , they move with the light. Therefore it is important to be quick and nimble. Some artists paint silk flowers or use photographs but I find that often looks stiff and you can not see all the subtle shades of color in a photograph. Personally, I enjoy the immediacy of painting flowers from life. As with most things you want to master, it's a good idea to break down the different aspects of the task and just work on one or two at a time. In painting, the elements are: composition or design, color, values, drawing, paint quality or brushwork, and edges. In this tulip painting I worked mainly on edges and brushwork. Note the tulips that are in the back of the arrangement are slightly blurred and the paint application is thin. As the tulips come forward, scoop up the paint on your brush and with one stroke put the paint down on the canvas and LEAVE IT. If you don't like the shape, just scrape it off and try again. It never works if you try to fix it, just start over and with a little luck you'll get it.

Piney Woods at Sunset

4/8/2017 2:15:37 PM | By Nancy Paris Pruden | Comment on this

INSPIRED BY VAN GOGH

Vincent van Gogh's Birthday was March 30, and he really was a tragic genius who left us all with some of the world's most beautiful paintings, filled with color. He said, "There is no Blue without Yellow and without Orange." Color was his inspiration and he understood the power of color to evoke emotion. "I use color in a completely arbitrary way in order to express myself powerfully" he said. Also, "Color in a picture is like enthusiasm in life." However; color in Nature is often times just as powerful while still not being arbitrary. He also said, "The laws of color are utterly beautiful, just because they are not accidental." So, as artists, which philosophy do we follow? Do we ignore natural color for heightened effect , or do we follow the laws of Nature and only paint what is before us? Thank you Vincent, for giving us permission to do both. Finally he said, "One can speak poetry just by arranging color well."

Let's all dare, like Van Gogh, to speak poetry and to BE BOLD!