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Nancy Medina Art ~ Flower Mound Studio January 2013 Newsletter
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Breakfast Nook Hydrangeas
16X20
Oil on Archival Panel
Sold
Fresh Flowers and Warm Chocolate Cake
We had another visit from Father Winter this month with snow all the way up to our toes! It seemed the perfect occasion to make one my Mom's favorite sheet cakes from scratch. Jo's Chocolate Cake came from one of those old co-op cookbooks from the 1960s. This recipe had no fancy fonts or artificial ingredients included, and I've shared the recipe link below because a little bird told me you deserve something sweet this week. Be sure to serve warm with a big glass of iced cold milk. It's a perfect snack for a chilly winter evening while lounging on the couch with a snuggly friend and a great old movie on TV! There is nothing that brings your art into perspective like January tax time (not to put a damper on your first bite of cake or anything), but it is also a time to note progress and rejoice again in a very successful year for my little home grown art business - Flower Mound Studio. Thank you to each of you for walking with me on this art journey, for your support and inspiration, and also for those funny emails that make me giggle at the most inopportune times. Aren't those always the best?
AnnieBee in snow up to her toes...
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Winter Poppy Garden
36X24
Oil on Gallery Wrap Canvas
A Plethora of Poppies in the Studio
My tube of cadmium red worked overtime this month, producing six new poppy paintings one after the other. When the muses sing, I really believe one must open the door immediately, lest they get drowned out by the day to day events that make time pass so quickly. My painting style with poppies has changed significantly over the past two years. I used to paint these red flowers on a dark umber background, but have found lately I enjoy the lighter, brighter feel of working on a white surface. I mix different combinations of peaches, buttery yellows and reds and lay in shapes of color.
I intentionally avoid thinking of my flowers in concrete terms as I create them - instead I deconstruct them into recognizable shapes. Gerbera daisies are little popsicle sticks, adhered to a center with a tiny pearl necklace surrounding the belly button. Hydrangeas are clusters of square strokes, layered according to temperature, with ridge lines of color to add interest. Painting fast, loose, and with large brushes helps evoke confident strokes. I imagine as I am working how these flowers feel in nature, how they would move with the breezes, what shadow play and sunlight will do to certain segments of each.
I love sharing everything I know about painting flowers in my workshops, all my favorite shortcuts, and ways to enjoy and celebrate the painting process, instead of feeling tied to a treadmill when you enter the studio. Most of all, I want to be sure every one of my students has fun learning and leaves the classroom excited about what they can create.
Put a little joy in your brush and let's
make flowers bloom together in 2013!
A plethora of poppies on the easel!
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 The Gathering, 12X36, Poppy Triptych Purchase Information |
 Red Red Rose 10X10 OIl on Gallery Wrap Canvas Sold My Mother the Closet Poet My mother began writing poetry when we were toddlers. She collected her poems in a large spiralbound notebook over the years. By the time we were in high school, she had been published in several anthologies and had won some awards for her writings. She did not tell us she wrote poetry, or show us her work, until I was 22 years old. She wrote a poem about me once, and it told of a kitten who grew up and whom she could no longer protect from the world. All of her poems were lost when her home was remodeled over 10 years ago. I wish more than anything I could find them. Mom will go into hospice care tomorrow morning, after returning from the hospital to the house on the farm that my father built. She's had a difficult year, and her body is growing more frail. In the hospital room today, she asked my older sister Kim to sing for her. Kim, who has a beautiful voice, sang Amazing Grace, referring to the lyrics from her telephone screen. Mom told us there were many choruses to Amazing Grace, that over the years more and more verses were added. If I do not ever find my mother's lost poetry, I know I'll always have the echo of hearing her read them to me in my memory, just as she read to us from our children's books every day when we were very small. She always put such a gentle inflection on the words, not pretentious and not changing her voice, but letting our imaginations fill in the notes while she rocked my baby sister and turned the pages of the Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy adventures. She would stop at the end of a chapter each day, and we were always left with a cliffhanger. Would Raggedy Ann and Andy find their way out of the candy forest? Would Hobby Horse find his way home? My mother's voice is weaker now, and every breath is an effort. But she still has her sense of humor and a strength of spirit. She remains willful and determined, finishing her Sunday crosswords and answering trivia questions before we can formulate responses. The only time I have ever seen her truly angry was when she was defending one of her children. I think if I had a choice again, I would live this life again, just for the chance to be her daughter one more time. I am incredibly, immeasurably blessed to have her as my Mom. |
 Midnight Liliess 16X20 OIl on Archival Panel Purchase Information Don't forget Valentine's Day is just around the corner! Click here to see all my newest paintings! |
 Snapdragons and Sunflowers Class demonstration 16X20 OIl on Museum Quality Linen Panel Purchase Information A Flower Painting Workshop Snapdragons and Sunflowers was one of six demonstration paintings this month for my 3-day workshop in North Texas. I will have such fond memories of this fun group of ladies, we did do quite a bit of giggling and donut sampling and had a selection of coffees to keep us on our toes. We also managed to cover quite the spectrum of flowers, the sunflowers standing out in particular, since I managed to put a nice fat streak of cadmium yellow in my hair in the middle of class. Using a Clorox wipe to remove the yellow paint was maybe not the best decision, in hindsight. Here is a photo of the 15 talented gals who joined me to paint roses, poppies, sunflowers, daisies and more! I hope you'll join me for my next workshop in April, and if you happen to be a hairdresser AND an artist, I will be especially eager to welcome you! 
A field of lovely ladies and their fresh picked daisies! |
 Sunset Blaze Field of Wildflowers 16X12 OIl on Archival Panel Purchase Information |
Flower Painting Workshops
April 5-7, 2013 - Irving, Texas
ALMOST FULL
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May 3-5, 2013 - Fredericksburg, Texas
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June 21-23, 2013 - Lees Summitt, MO
ONLY 2 SEATS LEFT
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August 16-18, 2013 - Irving, Texas
NEW!
Read more...
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 AnnieBee and Howard Pee Pugpants in the snow |
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Nancy Medina Art
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My Facebook Fan Page Contact me: nancy@nancymedina.com |
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How to Purchase a Painting From My Studio
You can find my paintings for sale every day through my Web Site, my Daily Painters Gallery, as well as galleries in Texas and California. I can take paypal payments or any major credit card by phone or email. If you would like a custom creation of your favorite blossoms, send me an email. I would be delighted to create a special painting just for you!
Flower Mound Studio
nancy@nancymedina.com
Flower Mound, Texas 75028
214-802-5537
www.nancymedina.com
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Nancy Medina Art
Flower Mound Studio
Flower Mound, Texas 75028
214-802-5537 |
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