Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Abstract Horse Painting White Stallion by Contemporary Texas Equine Artist Laurie Pace, Summer Show at Mirada Fine Art Denver July 2011

White Stallion
 
3 ft by 4 ft  Oil on Canvas
© Laurie Pace  Graphics One Design 1998-2011
Contact me: Laurie

Layers of oil cover the original acrylic base. This may be done and it may not be. It is hanging in the drying room and I will address it next week... but this is the progress on this abstract horse painting...the White Stallion.

The passion of red played into this horse painting and it is very strong in its presence. This painting is for my show in Denver this summer at Mirada Fine Art.

Sharing Prosperity

When you read the word prosperity what comes to mind? Money?  Not in our household.  Prosperity refers to the abundance God grants us minute by minute, day by day. Sharing our love with others and exchanging kindnesses  is pure prosperity.   

I love smiling at strangers.  Sometimes it is a game to force them to see you and look you in the eyes as you smile a broad grin and say GOOD MORNING. When someone has sick family members it is kind to take food to them. This is sharing your prosperity. When your neighbor needs to borrow a cup of sugar, you give her two cups.  You life will be blessed in return for all that you do give so graciously because you have not expected anything in return. 

Abundance is not measured by money or possessions, but by moment to moment gifts and blessings from the Father.  Share what you can of what you have with others.  When you feel you have given it all away, emotionally, physically and tangibly, give some more.  Bless the lives of others. That is sharing prosperity.
 Laurie        
" The measure you give will be the measure you get, and still more will be given you."  Mark 4:24
 

Monday, April 18, 2011

Progress on Crowning the Hill Abstract Horse Painting by Texas Contemporary Equine Artist Laurie Pace

Name Change as I worked..

Progress on Crowning the Hill
4 ft by 4 ft  Oil on Canvas     
Not sure if it is done yet, I am still working on it... will take a few weeks to finish it up and two months to dry.  This is a startling visual painting of three horses completed with a palette knife and lots of paint.



© Laurie Pace   Graphics One Design 1998-2011
Contact Me: Laurie 

Personal Spirituality?

My husband often tells me I live in my world with my rose colored glasses.  I do not like to watch the news. I do not like horror shows, murder mysteries, or noisy gun movies.  I do not like violence.   I live in MY WORLD.  Yes and you live in your world.


In my world there is beauty, kindness, sharing, sunshine, rain (when needed) and every person is giving and caring for each other.  That is my perfect world. Some might call it Neverland.



It does not exist.  All of us live through horrendous happenings, ugly moments, illness, arguments, failures and we seem to remember those better than our fabulous moments of sheer joy and laughter.  It would be slightly delusional to think we could wipe away the ugliness that seems to drag us down.  That shadow of doubt that creeps into our daily lives dimming the light and they joy we have at that moment.


Our world is basically a broken world. We are broken people, far from perfect. A dear friend wrote me about the need to not exist every day, but to live with joy again in her life.  How do you get there?  Neverland seems a galaxy away...but is it really?

You have to take joy and embrace it.  You have to look into the mirror and see you as you are, broken and tired... and love that broken person again.  God loves you so much. He has so much for you.  He has promised you the delights of your heart.  You can't get there if you do not believe in Him.  Every day begin again with joy. Every day count your blessings...all the GOOD wonderful things you can find surrounding you.  Roses blooming in your neighbors yard, the warmth of the sun, the awesome feeling of a warm shower as you wake up in the morning, the first cup of coffee or hot tea.  If you are not feeling joy, you have allowed your senses to die. You cannot feel anymore, so you must learn to feel again.  Focus on visual one day. The next day focus on touch. The day after focus on taste.

Learn how to be joyful day by day and it will slowly return.  My spirituality is based on the beauty that God brings into each moment.  I thank my Mother for instilling this in our home and our lives. 



Laurie        
 
“If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” - Romans 10:9-10
 
 
GALLERY LINKS

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Sunset Sail Modern Palette Knife Sailboat Painting by Texas Contemporary Artist Laurie Pace

Sunset Sail
Commission SOLD
This was painted for one of my earliest collectors.  She wanted a brilliant sunset painting with corals, oranges, turquoise, blues, reds and every other color you could imagine.  Done with a palette knife and about 10 layers of paint, she has her sunset sail for her Florida home.
Terry corrected my sails before I started on this one. Being a sailor, he is very much in tune with the jibs, mainsails etc and is always quick to correct my drawings if I am off for my sailboat paintings.

20 x 30 x 2 inches  Oil on Canvas  
  © Laurie Pace Graphics One Design 1998-2011
  Contact Me: Laurie  
Adversity
 I was not sure what I wanted to write about last night but after much prayer and the completion of this painting,  I decide to write about adversity in our lives. When you sail you basically have to rely on the weather, the wind and your skills. There are not motors on our sailboats.  I know last summer I shared the story of one terrific storm that blew up on us with thunder, lightening and wind that was against us as we tacked into our cove to tie up the boat.  

I was frightened; just like the disciples were frightened in the boat during the storm. I prayed and told Terry I wanted to see our grand-daughter again.  We worked hard together to bring that boat in safely and knew our true safety was in God's hands as lightening crackled around us with our huge mast soaring into the dark clouds. We both were paddling until Terry stopped and began pulling sails down because the wind was blowing us back out into the middle of the lake.


What do you do in life when troubles come?  It comes in many names: accidents, afflictions, bereavement, difficulties, disasters, failures, disappointments, hard times, misfortunes, suffering...I could keep typing but I know you get the point. It always seems to arrive unexpectedly. Adversity is defined as something acting against you. You read about it throughout the Bible. Sometimes it was sent from God directly to strengthen people, or sometimes it was sent by Satan.   God even allows it from Satan for growth of our spirit and soul. We even face difficult challenges we bring to ourselves. 


Just like change, adversity is something you can count on to happen. We all are confronted with painful situations.  The hardest for me is when is affects our children and grandchildren. When it is us, the adult, we have experience and decisions that we have to make dealing with the negative situation.  A child does not have the life experiences to put things into context. Often they do not fear as we fear because they are still so innocent.

When our eldest grandson fell ill  and died from unexpected seizures and brain swelling, it came out of nowhere... or so we thought. He died. He just died. He had a mild case of the flu and he died. How do you deal with that? No warning...he died. We had just celebrated his 11th birthday two months earlier.



I have a dear friend whose youngest son has a rare kidney cancer.  Rare enough that he is in the 10 percent that holds little hope for survival. They are 3/4's of the way through chemo treatments and their lives are upside down as they all struggle in the family to cope with this assault on the youngest member.  Mom and dad cannot row hard enough to get the boat to the shore... they have to rest in the waves and wind and trust in God.



What are you experiencing right now that requires endurance and faith in our Lord?  "God will not let you slip and fall..." Psalm 9:12.



Laurie        
 
James 1:2-3 "Whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy. For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow."

 
GALLERY LINKS

Monday, April 11, 2011

No 52 2 Abstract Circle Painting by Contemporary Texas Artist Laurie Pace, Caring

No 52 2
Abstract Circle Painting
Sold
This painting is part of a larger concept piece.  There is something about the unity of circles working together in a composition that is fulfilling for me.
Abstract Circles in patterns.
For me personally the circle signifies my relationship with God and family. God is in the center of the circle at all times. Continuing out from the center is immediate family and friends and then acquaintances. 
My circles of caring.
Acrylic on Canvas   
   ©Laurie Pace    Graphics One Design 1998-2011
Contact me: Laurie


Friday, April 8, 2011

Golden Cloud's Gathering colorful Horse Painting by Texas Equine Artist Laurie Pace

Golden Cloud's Gathering
30 x 40 inches  Oil on Canvas  
 Available...
Not sure if I am done...will decide in a day or two... 
this is another  painting for my show in Denver this summer. It is named after a very famous horse.  Do you know who Golden Cloud was?
This horse painting has countless layers of thick buttery paint applied with a palette knife. 

Available through Mirada Fine Art: Contact Steve 
$4800
      © Laurie Pace   Graphics One Design 1998-2011
Contact Laurie.

Don't Give Them the Power

Somewhere someone is truly hurting over something from their past or from something recent.  We can be violated by words or actions. The hurt that ensues can be emotional as well as psychological. Actions of people stronger than we are seem to really damage us more and it is common to dwell on the situation with anger and depression feeling unworthy as well as hurt.

What you need to know is that person truly does not have power over you. They only have power over you if you allow them to. Do not give them that part of you. God made you and you are precious in His sight.  Bad things happen to all people and we have the responsibility to face what was, accept it and move forward in God's grace. Protect yourself if you are in a dangerous situation, move out of it. Do not stay in a situation that keeps you vulnerable.

After being hurt it is hard to move on...but you must and you must find forgiveness for the other person. Bitterness or fear keeps the power in their hands...and you want to get past it.  

Empower yourself with the Love of God.  Celebrate the beauty He created in you.  Give your thanks to Him and He in turn will empower you to face anything and everything.  The will of God will never lead you where the grace of God cannot keep you.

Laurie        
 
“Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you. “Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.” Luke 10:19-20
 
 
 
GALLERY LINKS

Friday, April 1, 2011

Mountain Appaloosa, The Painted Ponies 2011, Abstract Horse painting by Texas Equine Artist Laurie Pace

Mountain Appaloosa
Available 
Mirada Fine Art, Denver CO.

20 inches by 30 inches  Oil on Canvas  
 ©Laurie Pace   Graphics One Design 1998-2011
contact me: Laurie    


On The Wind of Joy


She flitted around the house in her Tinkerbell-like outfit, pretending to fly and soar on the wind around the living room making circles around the couches and tables.  Her voice had a beautiful sing-song quality that rang with happy notes of joy and pleasure at just being alive.  It was quite the contrast from the two year old tantrum in the bathtub the night before when she did not want anyone washing her hair.

The wild swings of joy and frustration of being age two reminded me that it was a mirror of what we often see in adults.  Night before last I crawled into bed, the last night Lady L would be here this trip...worn but happy.  Terry was in the den with Larry watching the latest episode of Top Gear, a favorite in our household. Stacey had fallen asleep a few hours earlier with Lady L, both tuckered out.  I climbed into bed with a tv remote in my hand.  I NEVER have control of the remote as I rarely watch TV; I thumbed my way through the 500 plus channels and was amazed at how much I had NOT missed in life.  I did find Sweet Home Alabama on the Love Channel and settled in to watch the last hour of it.  Rather sappy but the part that got me was the end.  As the two destined romantics arrived at their seven year late wedding reception, the joy of life and celebrating was so contagious I cried happy tears in response. 

Why can we not live like this always?  Why can we not find this much joy in every thing we do? I switched off the tv at 10:30... Terry had crawled in bed about 15 minutes earlier and was already sound asleep... and I prayed... and had this 'feeling' that I truly need to make more joy each day.  I need to celebrate life each day.  I need to praise Him more each day and I need to bring back to my marriage this same joyful nature of the fullness of life. 


So when I drug out this canvas above ... that was drawn off last November, I picked up my palette knife and went to work. I worked through  most of the afternoon and into the evening until after eight... and I think I am finished.  This was joy in the making.  Painting for my show opening in Denver in July this summer.... pure joy in celebration of life, love, freedom, energy,...all the good things in life...expressed through color and my palette knife. I hope you enjoy the story and the semi-abstract appaloosa painting above.

Joy to you. Joy is in the air; you can feel it in the wind and in your heart. God is calling to you. 



Still a few more weeks to sign up for the art workshop. You do not need to be an accomplished painter to participate...any level artist will learn much from the three day gathering.


Laurie        
 
“For the director of music. Of David. The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good.” - Psalm 14:1

 
GALLERY LINKS

Share Wonders of the Heart

LinkWithin

Blog Widget by LinkWithin