Bella Donna

I have been wanting to do a post dedicated to one of my all time favorite people in my life...Donna O. Kearney.  and for the past couple of weeks I have been having serious home sickness for HER!  So I need to share her with you.  This is Donna:

I met Donna about 15 years ago, after discussing with a friend about a painting class she was taking.  She invited me to go with her, assuring me that the teacher wouldn't care if one more person came to the class.  I agreed to go. The teacher taught painting out of her basement.  I had really been needing something in my life that would help me to be creative again.  I felt at the time like I had forgotten myself, totally lost in motherhood and family, I needed something just for me. (Brain junk is an awful thing....)  We showed up for the class...and the room was completely packed!  I mean packed like sardines!  As we were walking in....I heard someone asking Donna if she was taking any new students...she was saying, "No....we just don't have room right now..."  Then in we came, and Jamie said "I brought a friend with me."  Donna looked me straight in the eyes...(and I'm not kidding) it felt like she was looking into my soul and sizing me up.  She said, "except for you.  I have room for you."  It still makes me cry, thinking about it today.  We are sisters, her and I, and that night she saved my life.

Thanks Donna.  You're the best.

An "oldy..but goody"....

 Oil on Canvas 24X48

Years ago my good friend, Danielle, asked if I would do a painting for her home.  She wanted a french looking landscape.  We found this old book that had black and white pictures of french cities so I dove in. I had been painting exclusively with watercolor at that time, so I was a bit nervous, but I got into the zone fairly quickly and had a great time with it! This was the resulting painting. A few years after I painted it, the movie Chocolat' came out and to our astonishment, the opening scene of the movie is a panoramic shot of this same little town!  Right down to the church in the center square!  I had the chance to see it again recently...(it felt like seeing a long lost child). I also got to visit with my sweet  friend, who I love dearly. She is very talented in her own right and you should definetly check out her website(here)....you'll be glad you did.

As for me, I have been traveling, visiting, kissing grand kids, then moving when I got back to California....whew...I need a vacation from my vacation!  We are getting settled, now and it's time to crack open the painting supplies!  Happy summer!

Love,
Neisy

"Reflections at 42"

6x6 Oil on canvas panel

"Peace for Patti"

30x48 Oil on Canvas

I just returned from a vacation to Amelia Island, Florida! It was truly FABULOUS! I went to visit my sister-in-law, Liz and spend some time fishing, sun-bathing, painting, and fishing some-more. We had such a great time and I can hardly wait to go back....soo0o many sources of inspiration for painting. The second piece I did for my new friend Patti, who lives on the island. She is an audiologist and wanted a painting that would be peaceful for her patients as they take their hearing tests. As I sat at the beach...all blissed out...I thought "There is nothing more peaceful that I can think of right now!" So I put a few pictures together and came up with this scene.

Also, to catch a few of you up...I moved! Actually, Rob and I moved a couple of months ago to the San Fransisco Bay Area, in California. It has been quite a transition for us...but so far we are loving it. I am busy, but still finding time for painting and for vacations! (just call me the bi-coastal girl...) Life is Good.

Love,
Neisy

Just an Apple

( 5x5 oil on canvas panel)

Back painting with so much to tell..but no time right now! I will fill you in on all of the details soon!

Love,

Neisy

Spot on.

I found this today, and LOVE it. It is exactly what I need to hear.



Every artist should listen to this. So insightful.

Love,
Neisy

Drawing on stick-to-it-ivness...is that a word?

It has been forever since I last posted...our world has turned upside down...has it not? First the holidays, then my husband and I have recently moved to California! Packing, crying, saying goodbyes...loading, unloading...Yikes! I have lived in Utah for nearly 29 years...and all of a sudden everything changed! I think it will be really great, but I have to admit that my emotions do get the best of me some times. (so far away from family....)
I have been determined to keep going with my art...far more easier said than done. Right now I can't even find my paints and brushes, let alone a canvas to get something started! So today I pulled out a piece of paper and a stubby old pencil and began to draw! "I will keep going!"(she said to herself defiantly...)
Thanks for checking back occasionally...even if there is nothing new to see. I promise to pull it together soon!

Love,
Neisy

A drum beat with my name on it.

Yesterday I spent the morning with some old friends. (I love how you can not see someone for a really long time...then pick right up where you left off when you get together...you know?) I used to get together to paint with Sherri and Linda a long time ago...but life paths took us in different directions. They are both still on a creative journey, that I love. 
Sherri shared some of her expressions yesterday that I have to pass on to you. Sherri is a sensitive and analytical person. I love this about her so much. In her world, no rock goes unturned and she is in constant pursuit of who she is as a woman, artist, and human being.
What she creates speaks volumes to who she is and what her journey has been. I love it.
This is a portion of her work:
(click on the images to see detail...)

There is a conversation that has been rambling around in my head for some time now. I was talking to Donna a few weeks ago, and she was expressing how in art you have to learn all you can...study the masters, read every book, try every technique, immerse yourself in every aspect of what you love. Then after you have done all of this...you go to your canvas or paper, and forget all of that. Then just paint. But not with anything other than your own voice. Your own passion.
This has been the hardest lesson for me to learn. I keep trying to figure out what I want to "say" in my paintings. Who I am as an artist...I am still on the journey.
But I have to confess that sometimes this journey is very painful for me. I want it all now....I mean RIGHT NOW. OK...maybe the real deal is that I am putting the cart before the horse and what I really need to do is conquer the technique first. Did Rembrandt have a bunch of crap paintings that no one knows about before the masterpieces came? Where are they?

Thank you to my friends who make me think one more time about hard questions. Who make me pick myself and the brush up one more time to try it again.

Isn't self-introspection delicious?

Love,
Neisy