Palette Knife Painters, International

Soft Landing White Hydrangea was my afternoon step by step paint-along for class today in a beautiful lakeside town, Rockwall, Texas. Earlier in the day, we finished up our stock painting (flowers similar to larkspur) and this morning I completed a 16X20 pink rose painting, courtesy of the pink roses growing just outside our studio door, in the park. As I clipped away at pink roses in the park to add to the painting, a concerned jogger raised an eyebrow at me. I assured her we would be painting these, it was for a good cause, the rose would be memorialized for all time ad infinitum, and it was all sanctioned and blessed by the local art club. By then she was half a mile away. I'm not sure if she heard me, but I felt a little less guilty...

Friday, August 23, 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.

Thursday, August 22, 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!

Saturday, August 17, 2013

SOLD ~ Summer Nights Red Geranium Painting and a North Texas Workshop by Floral Artist Nancy Medina

Summer Nights Red Geraniums

by Nancy Medina

SOLD

8X10

Oil on Archival Panel

Tomorrow morning my three-day workshop in Irving, Texas begins, which enabled me to exercise little or no self-control in the Central Market *sound of harps* Flower Market today! For class this week, I found luscious, fat pink roses, white hydrangeas, purple and white stock, three kinds of sunflowers, red and white gerbera daisies, and at this point I simply lose track of everything else I grabbed and threw in the cart in a state of flower buying fervor. This new little geranium, however, came straight from my garden on a hot summer day!

Tuesday, August 6, 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

Queen of the Night Black Tuliip Painting by Floral Artist Nancy Medina

Queen of the Night Black Tulips

by Nancy Medina

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!

Friday, August 2, 2013

Simple Moments White and Blue Hydrangeas by Floral Artist Nancy Medina

Simple Moments

White and Blue Hydrangeas

by Nancy Medina

16X12

Oil on Archival Panel

It's been a busy day in Flower Mound Studio, I've finally finished the redesign on my art blog, and my August newsletter mailed today. I always include my newest paintings and important pug photos in each issue. This month I shared the haunted house story from my workshop in St. Louis. Click here to get the whole spooky story and read my August updates!

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.

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Ariel ~ Koi Pond Commission by 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.

Saturday, July 27, 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...

Friday, July 26, 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!

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Pink Roses and Award Winning Cottage Gardens of Coronado by Nancy Medina

Coronado Island Coral and Pink Roses

by Nancy Medina

16X12

Oil on Archival Panel

If you missed my tour of the award winning cottages

I'm warming up my brushes this week for my workshop in San Diego, and taking a virtual tour of some of my favorite cottage and flower garden photos. I'll be returning to sunny California in November and promise to take lots of pictures to share with you here.

during the Annual Coronado Island Flower Show,

you can click here to take the tour!

My favorite flower shop on Coronado Island!

Wednesday, July 24, 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

Tuesday, July 23, 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...

Monday, July 22, 2013

Moonglow Sunflowers by Floral Artist Nancy Medina

Moonglow Sunflowers

by Nancy Medina

16X20

Oil on Archival Panel

Moonglow Sunflowers is the newest still life in Flower Mound Studio this week, painted on an evening when the moon was bright after a rainy July day. These sunflowers and lilies are still fresh, though my peonies bid their adieu this morning after a ride back and forth to the farm with me for one more painting. I'm still having fond thoughts of the warehouses of fresh blossoms that filled Floral Row in downtown St. Louis where I visited last week, and wondering what was in those big rooms I didn't even venture into. I suppose one giant rubbermaid cart piled with flowers was enough for one workshop. Something to dream about until I return there to teach again next spring!

Sunday, July 21, 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...

Saturday, July 20, 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!

Friday, July 19, 2013

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

Garden Glow Geranium

by Nancy Medina

16X12

Palette Knife/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...

Thursday, July 18, 2013

SOLD ~ Peonies Out of Season by Floral Artist Nancy Medina

Peonies Out of Season

by Nancy Medina

SOLD

16X12

Palette Knife/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!*

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Gateway Red Geraniums by Texas Flower Artist Nancy Medina

Gateway Red Geraniums

by Nancy Medina

16X20

Oil on Archival Panel