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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

Mist through the trees

7/27/2014 4:53:38 PM | By Nancy Paris Pruden | Comment on this

Puzzle Pieces

Thinking of areas of a painting as pieces of a puzzle helps me to simplify a composition. What originally attracted me to this scene was the cool piece of light peeking out of the wall of trees. If that is one puzzle piece then the dark shadows under the trees and the dark reflection in the water is the 2nd piece. The ground and sky is the 3rd piece. All the other trees are about the same value so they hold together as the 4th piece and the light reflection makes 5 pieces. If you see other lights or darks in nature just ignore them! By simplifying nature you have a better chance of making a stronger statement.

This plein air painting was done at the Arboretum last Spring. It's a great place to paint in Houston before the mosquitoes and snakes come out, but don't go there after May!

Storm Coming

7/15/2014 4:29:30 PM | By Nancy Paris Pruden | Comment on this

Lost Bag

Air France really blew it! 10 days of a Painting Trip without paints or clothes really tested my patience. However; the generosity of my fellow travelers was quite touching and for that I am grateful! Armed with borrowed paints and clothes, Jay and I drove just outside our lovely French house late one afternoon to this church on the hill. We set up next to each other and painted the same view but our approaches were quite different and that difference continues to amaze me. Jay placed the tower to the left of center while I placed it to the right. His colors were softer and the field was greener while mine picked up the yellow of the hay. My sky was darker while his was sunny afternoon and I moved the hay bales to give vertical movement to an otherwise strongly horizontal composition. There are no "Right" answers to making a painting but rather decisions that create a dialogue between the painter and his painting. It's just too bad that my dialogue with Air France did not turn out as well.

Chateau Grounds

7/14/2014 12:15:20 PM | By Nancy Paris Pruden | Comment on this

Are We Sane?

"Painters do not need physical attributes as dancers or athletes do. Physically we need only our brains and eyes and reasonably steady hands. We don't even have to be fully sane." Richard Schmid, painter

I returned Sunday from a 10 day painting trip to France with a delightful group of 12 people; 6 artists and their spouses. Most of the group didn't know each other, but camaraderie materialized almost immediately. Could it be that the shared goal of making art pulled us all together into an insane group, intoxicated by art? I have noticed this before. The generalization that artists are somehow not altogether sane must have roots in some truth. However; the shared goal of trying to make beauty does lift you to another level of consciousness and that is insanely FUN!

The painting above was painted on the grounds of the Chateau we rented last summer in Normandy. The soft mist in the morning made the light look like diamonds. Some might say I was "Tripping" but this is what I saw.

A Special Place

7/14/2014 12:09:54 PM | By Nancy Paris Pruden | Comment on this

Special Places

This view from the dock of a family place in Michigan, is a beautiful example of a "Special Place". Say your family has gone there every summer your whole life. This is where you bring your "Sweetheart" to ask her to marry you. This is where you go to celebrate life's triumphs and a retreat from heartbreak. This is where families gather every year, a comforting ritual to share together. This painting was for a wedding gift.

The painting is also another example of ways to paint reflections in water and some tips. First, measure your reflection. It should be the same height as the object it's reflecting. Lights are darker and darks are lighter. Focus on the depth first, not on the surface and note the color of the sky in water. It is not the color at the horizon but the color of the sky directly above you. Notice the direction of the water and try to find horizontal lines in ripples. And last but not least, note the depth of the water- warmer in the shallow ends and cooler the deeper you go.

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Mist through the trees

Storm Coming

Chateau Grounds

A Special Place

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