Daily Painters of Texas: art classes

I am honored to have been invited to serve as a demonstration artist for the September 19, 2013, meeting of a very talented group of artists, the Highland Arts Guild of Marble Falls, Texas. I hope you will join us for a fun morning of painting and talking about art and become a Highland Arts Guild member while you're at it! Read more...

I've shared more photos on my art blog from my recent girl's painting week in the mountains near Oakley, Utah. My friend Elizabeth Robbins (world famous rose painter) was our gracious hostess, and made sure we had plenty of hiking opportunities to help burn off the donuts, chip and dip, homemade spaghetti, and snacks that make a retreat complete.

Saturday, August 24, 2013

Hydrangeas and Pink Carnations by Floral Artist Nancy Medina

Hydrangeas and Pink Carnations

by Nancy Medina

16X20

Oil on Archival Panel

My fresh white hydrangeas have tried on a few outfits in the past few days, first a tall, clear vase, then a cobalt blue glass vase, and now my favorite, a white vase with a blue lace pattern. This vase doesn't get used often because it has a hairline crack and cannot hold water without leaking. I found a way around that by putting a clear bag in the vase, and then filling it with water. Tomorrow, these hydrangeas will be finished. I'm glad they gave me one more day though!

The studio models take a bow!

Thursday, August 22, 2013

When the Wind Blows Sunflowers by Texas Artist Nancy Medina

When the Wind Blows Sunflowers

by Nancy Medina

16X12

Oil on Archival Panel

When the Wind Blows Sunflowers is a daily newbie in Flower Mound Studio and was one of my class demonstrations in North Texas this weekend. I always have plenty of help in the studio, with four supervisors. One in particular is most helpful when the ladies visit, because he does adore the ladies. (One of his favorite ladies is his Aunt Sherry.) I told Howie when he learns to say French fry, then he shall have a whole basket of them all to himself. He is wearing his beret today in hopes of charming a treat out of any gullible visitor who happens to be standing by the cookie jar.

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Celebrate Today Hydrangea Garden by Floral Artist Nancy Medina

Celebrate Today Hydrangea Garden

by Nancy Medina

16X20

Oil on Archival Panel

Celebrate Today Hydrangea Garden is the newest painting in Flower Mound Studio, with a message hidden under the painting (see my blog for the image). I finished this one late while the pugs snored all around the easel. The house is filled with fresh flowers following my workshop last weekend, one of the most excellent perks of my new job as a full-time artist. I have so many things to paint it is hard to decide where to start. I woke up this morning excited to get to work. I cannot remember feeling that way, ever before, for any job I have ever had before now. I'm very thankful, and it sure feels like it's worthy of celebration, tomorrow morning maybe I'll buy donuts!

The studio models take a bow!

Monday, August 5, 2013

Something Borrowed Sunflowers and Daisies by Floral Artist Nancy Medina

Something Borrowed Sunflowers and Daisies

by Nancy Medina

16X20

Oil on Archival Panel

Nancy Medina Web site

Something Borrowed Sunflowers and Daisies was one of my class demonstrations during my St. Louis workshop, and is named in honor of the cool vase that my hostess Sharon let me use for the setup that day. Traveling to workshops is always so fun, but finding the right vase upon arrival can sometimes be a challenge, since the one thing I don't ship ahead are my glass vases. I'm at the mercy of my students, who always seem to bring me the most amazing vases, and next is the whole I become obsessed with a particular vase thing, then I'm on Ebay when I return home searching for that yummy vase I became obsessed with. If it's not one obsession, it's another, right? At least it keeps me out of the mall...

Saturday, August 3, 2013

Celebrate Today ~ Red Poppy Torn Paper Collage by Floral Artist Nancy Medina

Celebrate Today ~ Red Poppy

by Nancy Medina

Mixed Media, Torn Paper Collage

11X14

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Celebrate Today, Red Poppy, is the newest artwork in Flower Mound Studio this week. One big ole mess on the table, one new poppy collage complete! I have been collaging in my head every day since taking a torn paper collage workshop from the master multimedia artist, Nancy Standlee, recently. I see a bird, I think of it as a collage. I see an apple, I'm tearing up magazines in my imagination and gluing that little apple into abstract shapes. Even my puggies have been subjected to the idea of pet portraiture in paper. (They are refusing to make eye contact...) There's nothing quite like having a new obsession to keep your creative muses humming!

Ask me how many times I tipped the glue pot...

Friday, August 2, 2013

SOLD ~ Queen of the Night Black Tulip Painting by Floral Artist Nancy Medina

Queen of the Night Black Tulips

by Nancy Medina

SOLD

16X12

Palette Knife/Oil on Archival Panel

Queen of the Night Black Tulips is the newest daily painting in Flower Mound Studio. Based on my favorite tulips of the Dallas Arboretum, I washed transparent reds into shadow and light, laying in sea greens nearby to push the temperature vibration. I spread the paint like thin strips of butter in a pattern of shattered stained glass. It seemed fitting to put those juicy colors on as thick as possible and make that color bounce!

Thursday, August 1, 2013

SOLD ~ Bee's Eye View Purple Poppies by Floral Artist Nancy Medina

Bee's Eye View Purple Poppies

by Nancy Medina

SOLD

16X12

Oil on Archival Panel

Bee's Eye View Purple Poppies is the newest daily in Flower Mound Studio. After several days of working on some colorful fish, I felt the need to break out the flower brushes and make bold color happen on the canvas. Sometimes a bit too much purple is good for the soul! For those who have taken my classes before, I used a bit of negative painting to highlight petals, and warm and cool greens to make the abstract background vibrate a bit.

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Ariel ~ Koi Pond Commission by Texas Artist Nancy Medina

Ariel - Detail from Koi Garden Commission

18X24

Oil on Archival Panel

Ariel is a lovely lady whose mom must move away soon. I was commissioned to paint Ariel's koi garden as a gift from the family, and the painting is in progress in Flower Mound Studio this week. I incorporated green shadows into her golden tones, to change temperature in shadow areas, and pushed highlights into more pure colors where the light was striking. There is nothing better than receiving a commission from someone whose photographs are professional quality, and the images I was given to work from are stellar. What a treat it has been to dip into the deeps with golds and nature's beauty in water this week! Stay tuned to my art blog ~ I will be posting this entire painting step by step as soon as it is concluded, in just a few days.

Sunday, July 28, 2013

Dare to Dream Red Poppy Collage by Floral Artist Nancy Medina

Dare to Dream Poppy

Textured Collage on Deep Gallery Wrap Canvas

12X12

I thought I'd dare to try something new today ~ collage, and a bran new obsession! Dare to Dream Red Poppy was created today during a delightful workshop with master multimedia artist and collage teacher Nancy Standlee at the Dutch Art Gallery in Dallas, Texas. Read more....

The art continues around

the edges

Friday, July 26, 2013

Poppy Fire by Texas Artist Nancy Medina

Poppy Fire

by Nancy Medina

16X12

Oil on Archival Panel

Poppy Fire is the newest daily painting in Flower Mound Studio, as I continue to navigate these new waters as a full-time artist and a former corporate employee. Every now and then I still wake up at 5 am with a panic attack, thinking of the annual meeting in October (which I no longer have to attend), the quarterly Board of Directors reports (which I no longer have to compile), and the hours ahead sitting frozen in a chair, counting the minutes until I can be back in my studio. Read more...

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Rose of Sharon and White Hydrangeas by Floral Artist Nancy Medina

Rose of Sharon and White Hydrangeas

by Nancy Medina

16X20

Oil on Archival Panel

Rose of Sharon and White Hydrangeas was my seventh class demonstration at my flower painting workshop in St. Louis a few weeks ago. Eighteen students painted in oils and acrylics to produce paintings of geraniums, hydrangeas, daisies, and sunflowers during three days in the beautiful historic district near The Hill. I wanted to be sure the white hydrangeas stood out, so I made the white china pot a bit more golden and subdued. The fresh Rose of Sharon flowers were a gift from Tina, one of my talented students, and were that sweet bit of color pop that set off the whole arrangement. You can see the fresh flowers that inspired Rose of Sharon below.

The flower models take a bow!

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

SOLD ~ Pink Roses of Coronado and a San Diego Workshop by Floral Artist Nancy Medina

Adrift on the Breeze ~

Pink Roses of Coronado Island

by Nancy Medina

SOLD

8X10

Oil on Archival Panel

Adrift on the Breeze, Pink Roses of Coronado Island is the newest small daily painting in Flower Mound Studio. I love making bright color happen on canvas, and pink roses just lend themselves to so many different combinations - blues, oranges, purples, and - don't forget - pinks! We'll be painting pink roses during my workshop in San Diego in November, along with quite a few other fresh flowers. I hope to see you there. Bring your walking shoes and warm up your camera, I'm going to take you to the garden where these pink roses grow all year round! Click here for more information!

Set me a task in which I can put something of my very self,

and it is a task no longer; it is joy; it is art.

- William Bliss Carman

Monday, July 22, 2013

SOLD ~ Dreams to Come Peonies by Floral Artist Nancy Medina

Dreams to Come Peonies

by Nancy Medina

16X12

Oil on Archival Panel

SOLD

See My Work First on Facebook

My husband comes home from work, now that I am no longer a slave to corporate America, and he says: "What did you do today, nuthin?" And he grins. Now that I am working solely as an artist, I never stop. Here's my typical day: Read more...

Saturday, July 20, 2013

Seasonal Peonies in Pink by Floral Artist Nancy Medina

Seasonal Peonies in Pink

by Nancy Medina

16X12

Oil on Archival Panel

Seasonal Peonies in Pink is the newest daily painting in Flower Mound Studio, painted at my Mother's farm in East Texas. Studio Director AnnieBee always accompanies me on these trips, providing invaluable assistance by attacking her reflection in the sliding glass door, eating birdseed from beneath the feeders, and poking my mother's leg at dinner time. Read more...

Friday, July 19, 2013

Summer Rain Red Geraniums by Floral Artist Nancy Medina

Summer Rain Red Geraniums

by Nancy Medina

16X12

Oil on Archival Panel

Summer Rain Red Geraniums was one of my class demonstrations in Lees Summit, Missouri last month, from our step by step afternoon paint-along sessions. These flowers were based on Connie Turner's glorious garden, the one you may recall we moved indoors, right into the classroom, one giant pot at a time. I decided I wanted to paint in oils years ago, for the first, time, after seeing a red geranium painting that made me want to cry. It was so beautiful, and the color so rich. If I could paint a geranium like that someday, I knew I would find perfect happiness. Little did I know, the art journey itself has given me just as much joy. For those who have walked this path with me over the years, I will have some exciting news coming up in the next few weeks, so stay tuned to my art blog for all the flower news fit to print!

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Garden Glow Geraniums and a Haunted House by Floral Artist Nancy Medina

Garden Glow Geranium

by Nancy Medina

16X12

Oil on Archival Panel

Garden Glow Geraniums was one of my seven class demonstrations in St. Louis last week. I had the great good fortune to be the guest of an accomplished portrait artist, Sharon, in her amazing home built by a steamboat captain in the 1830s. This wonderful home with its hardwood floors, old brick walls and archways, and fireplaces was filled with antiques and artwork, the kind of place you could easily picture in a great mystery novel. Windswept is the name of this home, Sharon told me, after filling me in on the activities of the resident ghost, who makes her presence known "only every three or four months". Read more...

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

SOLD ~ Peonies Out of Season by Floral Artist Nancy Medina

Peonies Out of Season

by Nancy Medina

SOLD

16X12

Oil on Archival Panel

I went to the market today for lemons and cheese and came home with peonies, sunflowers, larkspur, and lilies. I really should not be allowed in the grocery store without adult supervision. What a surprise to find fresh peonies in Texas in July! And what a surprise to come home from my St. Louis workshop to find it's been raining in Flower Mound for days! When the pilot announced the temperature in Dallas as we landed yesterday, folks could be heard muttering...."70 degrees? that can't be right...I hope he is landing us in the right state...."

I have so many wonderful photos to share with you from my trip to teach in my hometown last week. You can see some very lovely workshop attendees on my art blog today. You'll notice one in particular has fur, and extremely elegant posture. Shasta the Studio Kitty was exceptionally helpful, coming in about once a day to meow hello and request pettings, and always willing to lend a paw at the lunch buffet. This my dears, is a kitty with a job! Howard Pee Pugpants, take a note!

Peonies under way in the studio today *hey that rhymes!*

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Gateway Red Geraniums by Nancy Medina

Gateway Red Geraniums

by Nancy Medina

16X20

Oil on Archival Panel

Geraniums were the first flowers we painted in St. Louis, Missouri, last weekend, and one of seven demonstrations I completed for my 18 students. I painted crepe myrtles, rose of sharon, sunflowers, geraniums, white hydrangeas, blue hydrangeas, and delphiniums, and we had some of the most delicious lunches and snacks, thanks to Diane, our incredible hostess! Painting in a city as historic as St. Louis (founded in the 1700s!) was such a treat, everywhere we turned there were historical buildings and sites, and places I would have loved to spend a lot more time exploring. I'll be sharing more photos of the workshop and the beautiful paintings created by my students in the next few days so stay tuned to my art blog!

Monday, July 15, 2013

SOLD ~ Windswept Sunflowers and a St. Louis Workshop by Nancy Medina

Windswept Sunflowers

by Nancy Medina

SOLD

16X12

Oil on Archival Panel