Texas Gals in Parade Formation

Here's another in my Seguin Parade series. I actually paintied this once twice. It was up for bid in last year's ArtsFest silent auction and there were a couple of people who bid on it. The one who did not get the winning bid later contacted me and commissioned me to paint it again. 

I am showing it as it sat at the ArtsFest auction. As you can see, it was also used as the poster image for ArtsFest 2016. 

ArtsFest is coming up again, March 4th, to be exact. I will have another painting from my Seguin parade series for sale, so if you want to be first in line to own it for your very own, make sure you get your tickets for the Celebrarte evening gala. Tickets are $25 each and I can promise you they are well worth it. There will be live music and great food, complimentary souvenier wine glasses and lots of wonderful local art on display and for sale. I hope to see you there!

Megan

Here is an example of an unfinished portrait. I took a couple of small canvas boards with me on a trip to see the grandkids and painted when they worked on their craft projects. Megan is supposed to be holding a clarinet. I may go back someday and finish this, or not…I kind of like the less detailed abstractive quality of it.

Just Daddy and Me

You can see it in his eyes. He loves his daddy. I don't know what they were talking about. That doesn't even matter. I just know they love each other.

A Texas Gal, Class of 2016

Cowboy boots, Texas A&M, cut-offs and a sweet-heart necklace…the important things in life according to this graduating senior.

My Son and His Daughter

Photos are a great way to record special moments; there's no debate about that. I can't explain why, using any facts or figures, just gut reaction, to my contention that a painting can add so much feeling and interpretation to a special moment. Such is the case with this snapshot. I several pictures of my son holding his brand-new baby. I loved the simplicity of him, dressed in a tee shirt and jeans, and his daughter simply wrapped in a soft, white blanket. Yet, when I painted the scene, somehow, more emotion and drama were revealed. By the way, this is my very favorite of all my painting. I haven't given it to my son yet. Someday, but not today.

Senior Portrait in the Bluebonnets

Graduation is a time of completion and a time of promise. Kids really don't have a clue about what is ahead of them as  full-fledged adults. If they did, they probably wouldn't have such a happy look on their faces. It's not that I am cynical…we all know that being grown-up is tough. Thank goodness for the transitional time of fun and joy. I pray God's blessing on this young woman as she grows in wisdom and knowledge.

The Very Beginning…My First Portrait

Here's my very first attempt at portraiture.
I had no idea plaid is such a complicated pattern.
No one told me fingers are such complex structures.
Skin tones? Why, they must be pink, I am sure…(hahaha, NOT!)

With all the things I did not know, what I did know was that I had a wonderful time working things out. Here is the exact moment I moved from thinking photography was the only way I had to express myself artistically. I knew I am never going to be Michelangelo or Rembrandt. That's okay. I will be the very best Nancy Kissiar that there ever has or will be.
Life is such a fun adventure, and definitely full of surprises.

 Just for comparison, here is a painting I did several years after my very first portrait. Yea! I can see growth and improvement. I share this because I hope you will go out and do something new. Something you know is difficult, something that takes years to get "right." Go ahead. Do it. Who cares if it isn't as good as someone elses's work. Do it, do it a lot. Work at it. Read about it. Talk to others who do it. Practice, practice, practice. I promise you will improve. 

Cowboy Kiss

This was commissioned by a loving husband for an anniversary gift. 

Baby and Her Beads

Ah, little fingers and toes…such a challenge to paint, yet they add so much to the portrait. 

Seguin's Uncle Sam, Missing in Action

Folks who have attended Seguin's Fourth of July parades have seen our own Uncle Sam, a local resident who rides a vintage bicycle, you know, the kind with the giant front wheel. On this particular Fourth of July morning, Uncle Sam is talking to one of the parade officials.

 In the background, firefighters dressed in their very best are standing at ease while they wait for their turn to enter the parade. If you look closely, you can see a young man sitting in the driver's seat of a very old fire truck, which is sitting on a flatbed.

This painting is missing in action. I entered it in a silent auction to benefit the South Texas Pregnancy and Care Center, a couple of months ago. It did not get purchased, but it did disappear. I hope it will turn up again, but who knows. I am writing about this so that if you happen to see it somewhere on display, you might let me know. Meanwhile, I will continue to paint Seguin parade scenes and local Seguin personages. I might even paint Uncle Sam again.

Hold My Hand, Please

There are a couple of reasons I chose to paint this moment.

The first reason is because little sister is reaching for  her brother's hand, without even looking to see if he is there to take it. She just trusts that he is there for her. You can tell he is looking her way. She is just a step in front of him, but he is at her side, brotherly instinct to protect her displayed for me to catch with my camera. I fell in love with the shot, and hoped I could do it justice if I painted it.

The second reason is because I wanted to try my hand at painting waves, water and a glistening reflection on the wet sand.

Once again, fingers (hands) are a focal point of my work.

Don Keil For Mayor, Seguin Parade Series

There are two main genres in my portfolio. One, of course, is portraiture, and the other is a mix of Americana and Seguin iconography. Here, you can see how I focus on Seguin yet I still have the Americana with all the flags. For those of my readers who do not live in Texas, I might mention that the Lone Star flag, which is flying proud on the 1955 car, is just as revered and just as loved as Old Glory.

Seguin, first named Walnut Springs in the early 1800's then changed to honor a hero of the Alamo, sits close to San Antonio, and close to Austin. Yet, it still retains the small town charm which so many find attractive. As you can see, even the mayoral race has that small town flavor.

Three Children With a Red Wagon

I have some friends who have one of the most photogenic wildflower spots in their front yard. People, lots of people, stop and take pictures, sometimes without any people in the shots, sometimes with sweethearts or children or pets sitting among the bluebonnets.

I asked if I could use their yard for a photo shoot, and in return, I would take pictures of their kiddos. This painting is a result of that promise. Momma dressed her girls in beautiful matching dresses and baby brother sat in the red wagon. What fun!

Now, as to the difficulties I discovered as I worked on this painting. First of all, the canvas is 12 inches by 24 inches. The majority of the canvas is landscape and the figures are very tiny. I had no idea that it is exponentially more difficult to capture the essence of a person's features the tinier the figure. Think about it. On a large canvas, say 3 feet by 4 feet, the painter has at least several hundreths of an inch leeway to get a feature "right." When the entire face is only the size of a pinkie fingernail, the variance for error is probalby only nano-specks.

So, I worked and reworked the two girls' faces over and over and over. Mostly, I like the little boy's face. To me, it seems like a good rendering. The girls, however, look fine as figures of random, anonymous children, but they don't look enough like the actual children I photographed.

I developed an immense respect for artists who painted the victorian and earlier miniatures.

The Barefoot Princess

Some princesses don't care if they break royal protocol by posing with their bare feet peeking out from the cover of their royal gowns. This princess made sure she had her blue plastic ring and her Disney tiara in place, but didn't take time to slip on her Cinderella slippers. Personally, I love her just the way she is…

Her pup, Oscar, is ever so loyal and well-behaved, a true gentleman in every sense of the word.

Baby Ballerina

This little darling performed at a dance recital I attended. At the completion of all the performances, proud parents and grandparents showered their little divas with bouquets and posed the precious ballerinas for photos. This little girl just stole my heart. She is a classic, eternal beauty. So, while daddy was taking her picture, I was over on the side, taking a photo also.

In my attempt to master new skills, I wanted to work on clothing folds and material shimmers. I think I did a pretty good job on the outfit. I wish I had done as well on her face. I never quite got the pouty innocence no matter how many times I tried. It has been several years since I painted this one, and I never did seal it, so I may go back, some day, and see if I can get mine to look a little more like the photo.

Running Girl

I have to tell you a story about this little girl. She is not a performer, she is not motivated by people's praise, she could care less whether she ever gets any gold stars. But she is polite.

 This is Ellie.

She is the sister of the little conductor in a previous post. He calls me his best friend. She loves me just as much, but she shows it so much differently.

Instead of running up to hug me, she quietly and unobtrusively sneaks up to snuggle with me when I am not paying attention. When asked if she would like to talk to me on the phone, I generally hear her reply, "No thank you," but I don't get my feelings hurt.

You see, Ellie is an artist, just like her grandmother. And when she draws, I find myself features in a lot of her work, surrounded by rainbow, larger than any other figure, honored and loved.

I look into her beautiful eyes, and I know. She loves me just as much as I love her.

All Aboard!

Here's the cutest conductor I have ever seen. This is acrylic on canvas, 16x20. 

Baby Blue Eyes

This little one is now a big brother! Congratulations to Mommy and Daddy. New baby brother is just as cute, too.

Little Girl With Pink Umbrella

It seems like every portrait presents new challenges. In this one, it was the shoelaces. The little girl with the pink umbrella is now in middle school. She is even more beautiful now.

The Three Princesses, Seguin Parade Series

Seguin is renowned for it's grand Fourth of July parade, touted as the largest small-town Fourth of July in Texas. I love to walk the staging area as the parade participants are awaiting their turn to enter Austin Street and begin the long journey to the Coliseum parking lot. I have met so many interesting folks, and I wish I could take photos of them all. Not possible, but I do what I can….

Here are three lovely young women in their royal regalia. One sports a watermelon theme, promoting Luling, the watermelon capital. Another has a strawberry ensemble, which everyone knows must be for the city of Poteet, with it's famous Strawberry Festival. The third gal, the one in blue, features the bluebonnet, and let me tell you, folks in Texas are proud of our bluebonnets.

Anyhow, once I started painting this parade scene, I was inspired to paint several more. So, I will share several of them in the coming days, mixed in with more individual portraits.

Two Girls and an Open Bible

Here is the third in the "Open Bible" series. The two sisters have grown so much since I painted this. They are still just a cute, though. Also, they have had an addition to their family, so now, there are three little girls. It sure would be nice if I could find time to go back and do another painting of them, this time with all three cutie pies.

Chuck and His Dog

This is Chuck…

Yes, he only has three fingers on his right hand. Chuck spent most of his adult life as a professor of theology to graduate level students and as a missionary, teaching pastoral topics in third world countries. Once, when in Albania, he fell from a ladder and lost his little finger. He jokes about going to the Albanian hospital and hearing the ER doctor tell him they didn't have any novacaine to deaded the pain as they operated on his hand.

Chuck never liked this painting, though it hangs on his wall in his home. He always said he needed more color in his skin tones. I keep that in mind as I paint, now. He might be right, but I never went back and changed it.

Carlos is the first dog I ever painted. I think I got his "skin" color spot on.

Oh well, I look at this painting and try to see what I got right. You can't start out a Rembrandt, but you can keep striving to improve. That's what I tell myself.

Sunday's Best, One of My Open Bible Series

In the early days of developing my own voice and style, I painted people sitting with an open Bible. This is the first of the series. When I saw this darling girl running around church in her gorgeous Sunday dress, black tights and eyelet white shoes which were unbunckled, I instantly knew I wanted to catpture that look somehow.  

Kim and Jonathan Are Among the First

This is the second portrait I ever painted. After being stuck in the house for a while my super-cool, super-fast, super-undependable hunter green corvette was once again super-broke, I decided to go through some of the portrait sessions I had done in the past to see if I could find a photo I could use for painting practice.

This is the photo I found:

I took some artistic license with the painting….changed the background to include some blue sky, and painting Kim's face where it is more stylized than an exact rendering, but overall, for my second attempt at painting faces, I was pleased.

Somewhere along the line, I realized I love painting people!

Dear readers, please note that I did not begin to paint until well into my fifth decade of life. For those of you who feel like it is too late to embark on a new journey, I wish to say, "Balderdash." It is never too late. If you have a yearning to attempt something new, GO FOR IT! What's the worst that can happen?

Praying for Rex

First of all, let me assure you I am still alive and I am still working, even though I have turned my back on my pour little blog for so long. You may be forgiven for thinking that Wild About Texas was a thing of the past.

Nope.

The main excuse for no blog posts is that I have moved from being mainly a photographer artist to become more of a portrait painter artist. So, with so little photography to share, the blog moved to the bottom shelf of my work desk.

Now, I want to reconnect with my readers, so I am going to start sharing some of the art I have been working on.

Here, I introduce you to Rex and Katherine. They posed for me, one Sunday after the morning service, and I took their picture. That was quite a while ago, maybe three years? Well, Rex is now 90 years old and in terrible, terribel health. He needs all the prayers he can get as he deals with life-threatening respiratory issues. His sweet wife, whom he adores, as you can see in this portrait, stays at his side while he struggles for life.

I love them both, and pray for God's grace and mercy during this difficult time….your prayers would be appreciated also.