Palette Knife Painters, International

Daisies and Pumpkins was one of my six demonstrations in oils from fresh flowers in Rockwall, Texas last weekend. Tomorrow I fly to Kansas City to teach, and I'm excited to see what kind of beautiful colors we can rustle up at the local flower shops and nurseries. Last year we found hollyhocks and you may recall we painted a red vase that belonged to Connie Turner that was dappled with tiny little flowers (the same red vase that I greatly admired, and said a tearful goodbye to when I left!). Stay tuned to the bloggy for postings from Kansas City, and all the early fall colors your heart desires!

In the meantime, if you haven't been out to see the incredible pumpkin display at the Dallas Arboretum, this is a great time to visit. I'll be teaching my only one day class there October 25, so if you'd like to get a sample of what happens in one of my workshops, why not join me in the most beautiful garden in Texas! Read more...

Dallas Arboretum blooms

Sunday, March 16, 2014

Earths Child Hydrangeas and a Dallas Arboretum Honor - Flower Paintings by Nancy Medina

http://nancymedina.fineartstudioonline.com/workszoom/1416156

Earth's Children Hydrangeas

by Nancy Medina

Class Demonstration

20X16

Oil on Archival Panel

Check out My New Video Here!

Earth's Children Hydrangeas was one of my class demonstrations in Florida last week. I finally got all my boxes unpacked and now I'm re-packing for Lafayette, Louisiana next week. I was delighted to receive word that my painting, Ribbons in the Sky White Tulips was juried into the Dallas Arboretum Garden Gallery for 2014. Competition is fierce to be included in the show which helps launch the Dallas Blooms Festival - I had to rush to the framer this morning. After all these years, he has grown used to my outlandish requests and takes them all in stride. Framing wet paintings, custom framing multiple paintings in 24 hours for last minute show entries, he is utterly unflappable and always does a beautiful job. Something tells me the big box framers would laugh me out the door if I even dared to ask for such special handling.

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Ribbons in the Sky White Tulips - Flower Paintings of the Dallas Arboretum by Nancy Medina

http://nancymedina.fineartstudioonline.com/workszoom/1398741

Ribbons in the Sky White Tulips

by Nancy Medina

14X14

Oil on Gallery Wrap Canvas

Check out My New Video Here!

Ribbons in the Sky White Tulips is the newest daily painting in Flower Mound Studio, based on the tulips of the Dallas Arboretum. I love painting white flowers. There are so many colors in white, purples, greens, yellows, blues. In color theory class at university, our final exam was a still life of all white objects. The professor brought in about 100 items and placed them on a huge table in the center of the room. Read more...

Tulips on the easel in Flower Mound Studio

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Tender Rain Hydrangeas and a Dallas Arboretum Flower Painting Workshop by Nancy Medina

http://nancymedina.fineartstudioonline.com/workszoom/1397893

Tender Rain Hydrangeas

by Nancy Medina

20X20

Oil on Gallery Wrap Canvas

Check out My New Video Here!

Tender Rain Hydrangeas is the newest painting in Flower Mound Studio, celebrating a new vase I received from a dear friend. You are invited to join me for my June 21 workshop at the Dallas Arboretum. I love teaching flower painting in the most beautiful gardens in Texas, and this will be a great time of year to get dozens of flower photos during the lunch break! Okay, dozens is a conservative estimate. I've been known to fill up an entire cell phone's worth of memory in 2 hours at the Arboretum before. My husband seems to find this quite astounding, though I'm sure all of you, my flower fanatic friends, are sympathetic to the cause....!

Dallas Arboretum Flower Painting Workshop

June 21, 2014

9 am to 3 pm

Registration Information

The studio models take a bow....

Thursday, October 31, 2013

Clear Skies Sunflower and Cherry Blossoms of the Dallas Arboretum by Nancy Medina

Clear Skies Sunflower

by Nancy Medina

16X12

Oil on Archival Panel

Clear Skies Sunflower was my afternoon class demonstration in Melbourne, Florida, making its debut in Flower Mound Studio today. This evening I finished work on a 48X24 Cherry Blossom Path based on the flowers of the Dallas Arboretum, and I posted the painting on my blog today. I'm looking forward to seeing all of these colors in bloom again next spring during the Dallas Blooms Festival, I'll be setting up for a plein air day and sure hope my painty pals will join me. Stay tuned to the art blog for details to come! My November 9 Dallas Arboretum class is full, but I still have seats open in my 3 day workshops in North Texas in the next few weeks. Put a little joy in your brush and let's make brilliant color bloom!

Sunday, October 13, 2013

Dallas Arboetum Azalea and Cherry Blossom Stroll by Texas Artist Nancy Medina

Dallas Arboretum Cherry Blossom Stroll

by Nancy Medina

Commissioned Work

48X24

Oil on Gallery Wrap Canvas

Dallas Arboretum Cherry Blossom Stroll is a new commissioned painting in progress in Flower Mound Studio tonight. My November Dallas Arboretum workshop is full, so we're celebrating (and packing for a Florida workshop next week!)

What a beautiful weekend, with perfect weather, sunny skies, and cool breeze. Just right for time to transfer and cull out my iris garden rhizomes! Our irises have done so well this year since we dedicated a new bed to their care last year. I have lots of iris rhizomes to share with friends. I can't wait until next spring to see the color again, in all its splendor....

Saturday, October 12, 2013

Purple PIrouette Larkspur by Floral Artist Nancy Medina

Purple Pirouette Larkspur

by Nancy Medina

16X12

Palette Knife/Oil on Archival Panel

Purple Pirouette Larkspur was one of my afternoon paint-along lessons for my Rockwall, Texas workshop last week. Every time I see "stock" flowers in the grocer, I grab up bundles and run to the checkout cheering. The color is so intense, so rewarding, and these flowers are so simple in their beauty. It's like finding the perfect designer dress on the 1/2 off rack at Nordstrom's the day before your 20th class reunion. Okay make that your 30th class reunion, and shoes to match! I confess purples push all my buttons, but most of all this lesson for my students was about color temperature. Warm purples and cool purples, next to one another, give a burst of color that is simply gratifying. Color in all its glory, and that's why I pick up the paint brush every day, it's all about the joy of color!
My Dallas Arboretum class on November 9 is almost full, just 2 seats left, so I hope you can join me there. The fall pumpkin display, the colorful mums, and the beautiful flower gardens are worth the trip!

Larkspur make a great backdrop for any bouquet!

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Pink Roses and Perks of Painting at the Dallas Arboretum by Nancy Medina

Pink on Blue Roses

by Nancy Medina

8X10

Oil on Archival Panel

Nancy Medina Web Site

Pink on Blue Roses is the newest daily painting in Flower Mound Studio. Painting outdoors at the Dallas Arboretum is one of the perks of my new job as a full time artist. No more soul scorching fluorescent lighting, just pure sunshine and breezes. On weekends, you can hear the sound of classical piano music wafting through the delphiniums and watch the brides and their photographers on their way to the perfect Kodak moment. Painting in the Arboretum gardens is just about perfect, especially if you rent one of the big red wagons at the help desk to haul all your important accoutrements (a picnic basket of fried chicken and iced down peach tea). Even better when the hubby comes along and sets up your EasyL easel and makes a critical ice cream bar run around 2 pm. I love when the children come up and ask questions about the painting, many answering in the affirmative when I ask, "Are you an artist?" I've never had one answer with uncertainty. They are either very certainly an artist, or very certainly not an artist. If the parent allows, I always offer the child my brush and invite them to contribute to the work in progress. This small gesture provides a return on investment equal to about a million smiles of pure childlike joy and wonderment. Have I mentioned recently how much I love my new job?

Just another day at the office!

Friday, March 29, 2013

Lacy Ladies Sunflowers by Texas Artist Nancy Medina

Lacy Ladies Sunflowers and Daisies

by Nancy Medina

Rockwall Art League Demonstration

16X20

Oil on Archival Panel

Nancy Medina Web Site

Lacy Ladies Sunflower and Daisies was my demonstration yesterday evening for the Rockwall Art League in Rockwall, Texas, a lovely little town on the lake that has grown by leaps and bounds since long ago when I worked for one of the small newspapers in that area! It was tons of fun to return to my old stomping grounds and visit with a group of enthusiastic artists, right next to a park. Betty Jean Hoaglund did a marvelous job of keeping me on track and on time, and let me paint sunflowers 'til the sun went down. What a perfect way to spend a Wednesday! Thanks so much to everyone who attended, many familiar faces from past workshops and Dallas Arboretum visitors.

The Lacy Lady sunflower models take a bow!

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Garden Gate Dallas Arboretum Tulip Path by Nancy Medina

Garden Gate Tulip Path

by Nancy Medina

16X12

Oil on Archival Panel

Nancy Medina Web Site