Melanie Stokes Art

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  • “Sheltered”

    www.melaniestokesart.com
    Sheltered
    9×12 Oil
    $125

    Today was a day I got out early to paint en plein air! (For all my South GA friends, that means “outside”).  I had already scoped out some settings, thinking of the angle of the morning sun.  I had already marked some places off my list, thinking of the solitude of painting and personal safety issues.  So this morning,  I got in my little car and drove around the neighborhood, looking for vistas on the golf course.  After exploring a few,  it always came back around to the issue of flying golf balls.  Did I really want to put myself through that risk?  Not to be defeated, I drove back home, hiked around my backyard and just could not find anything that caught my eye.  As I rounded the corner of my home, the sunlight on the front porch seemed to say, “Here I am.  Welcome home!  Why not just set up right here in the safety and shelter of your own front door?”  It felt good to be home.

    Now, I’ve said before that God speaks to me when I paint.  He seems to use the metaphors of my subject matter.  That front porch looked so sheltered and comfortable, nestled against the strong trees and surrounded by firm ground.  And, the best part was I could stand under some shade trees while I painted. (Even so, my glasses were fogging up in the GA humidity!  I’m trying to paint outside for this 30 day challenge and the weather is the biggest obstacle.)

    But, as I painted, I thought about Shelter and how important it is for all to have.    I thought about what Shelter looks like to many different people.   I thought about my own sheltered life:  parents who did their best to shelter me from grownup problems,  a lifestyle of ease and provision, a husband who would go to combat for me, and a God who always, somehow, makes all things work together for good.  I’ve been sheltered.  Not in the sense that I’m not aware of all that is unjust, and sad, and evil about this world.  Not that I haven’t had disappointments and difficult times.  But, I’ve been sheltered and fed and loved.  And for that I am grateful and content.  May generosity grow from gratefulness!

    This is Day 27!  Only three more days of this 30 Day Challenge!

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  • “September Skies”

    melaniestokesart.com
    September Skies
    26×30 oil
    $400

    Day 21 of 30 – This was a FULL day and I never picked up a paintbrush.  But I did present a program about my paintings.  And I did observe the “September Skies” as I came and went, thinking about how I would paint them.    This, one of my favorites, was painted several years ago.   I always notice clouds in September.  There is something about the way that the shadows get longer and crisper in September, something about the billowy look of the clouds as they float by, changing shapes as quickly as one realizes that summer is gone!    The change in the clouds and atmosphere each September reminds me of a day, thirty seven years ago today, when we stood in a hot cemetery for my mother’s funeral.  It was a sad season, with beautiful clouds overhead, clouds that surrounded me with comfort.   They still do, today.

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  • Winter’s Night

    melaniestokesart.com
    Winter’s Night
    18×34 Oil
    $300

    Day 19 of 30 Day Challenge – I’ve been working on this one a few days.  I took a photo of a house, while in Blue Ridge. on a hot summer day.  And as I painted, the background evolved into this.  Why am I painting snow when it is 90 degrees outside?  Sometimes, Art happens.

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  • Day 13 of 30 paintings: Once Upon A Time…

    melaniestokesart.com
    Once Upon A Time…
    24×30 Oil

    Once Upon A Time… (you complete the rest.)  Don’t you just love a Once Upon A Time story?  I used a photo from a trip in Mississippi to paint this.  There is just something surreal-looking about the landscape.  As I painted, I remembered being there on that summer day, breathing fresh air and feeling the warmth of the sun.  But now that it is finished, I can imagine the rest of the story… Once Upon A Time…

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  • Standing in the Storm

    melaniestokesart.com
    Three Palms
    9×12 oil

    As I post Day 10 of the 30 Day Challenge, I’m pulling out a painting from last May.  All thoughts and prayers are directed to everyone in the path of Hurricane Irma.   And just as these palms stand strong in the Florida landscape, we pray that the spirits of Floridians and Georgians will stand strong during this storm.

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  • Labor Day!

    Melanie Stokes Art
    “Labor Day”
    11×14 Oil

    Day Four of 30 paintings in 30 days –

    “Labor Day”
    11×14 Oil

    I painted this one from a photo over several days.  (photo credit: Luke Stokes Photography)  During my 30 day challenge, my goal is to paint en plein air as much as possible.  But today, I’m taking a Labor Day Holiday!   I love the work ethic of these two munchkins.  Fall is in the air!

    #30paintings

     

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  • #30paintingsin30days

    Tomorrow is the day I begin Leslie Saeta’s 30 Day Painting Challenge to paint 30 paintings in 30 days!  Now, this is not really as difficult as it seems to someone who is normally in her studio at least once a day.  But to have 30 paintings ready to post daily … that may be another matter.

    So, if you follow me through this, please be kind!  Realize some may not be gallery-ready!  Some will only be studies.  Some may be unfinished pieces of studies.  But I plan to paint and post something every day.   Look for it.  Hold me accountable.  Help me grow.

    Here is a link to the 30 in 30 Challenge, if you would like to join in!  Look at the map of artists from all over the world.   And there I am listed in Thomson, GA!!

    http://www.saetastudio.com/30-in-30.html

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  • Somebody’s Grandma Lived Here

    melaniestokesart.com
    This Old House
    16×20 oil – SOLD

    When I ride past an old house like this, I’m drawn to the image.  The architectural lines, the crumbling exterior, the welcoming porches, the trees framing and softening the landscape… And then my mind begins to imagine, “who lived here in days past?  how many children played in the yard?  did the family survive the hard times?  did someone remember to go back and visit?”

    This old house is in Cadley, Georgia.  I don’t know anything about it, except the location.  I stopped to take a photo one morning simply because it was there in its worn, aged beauty.   Yet, to someone, somewhere, this house has meaning.  Someone’s Grandma probably lived here!

    I have noticed, in recent days, some activity around this house that suggests renovation.  Oh, that we could look on all places and all people as something that has meaning to someone — something to respect and restore, to cherish, to ponder and to share.

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  • Rise and Shine!

    Rise and Shine!
    16×20 oil

    “Rise and Shine!”  (I remember my mama’s voice melodically calling me to wake up.)   “Rise and Shine” was the last thing I wanted to hear as a teenager.  But, it was a very positive call to alertness.  Mama said it with joy and happiness for the beginning of a new day!

    I chose to paint this scene because of the light– “the heavenly sunlight flooding my soul with glory divine…”  I took the photo in the morning, while out early to enjoy the day.  I’m not the same sleepyhead that Mama had trouble waking up.  Now I enjoy seeing the sun rise,  seeing the light creep around corners of trees and cling to the edges of leaves,  seeing sunlight blanket the earth with a yellow-white glow.

    Rise and Shine!  It’s another day to appreciate, and to be a light!

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  • Building Castles

    melaniestokesart.com
    Building Castles
    9×12
    Oil

    Have I mentioned that I’m a grandmother?  I have four grandchildren – two in my home state of Georgia, and two in Texas.  Recently, my Texan son and his family visited for a week.  What a joy to be able to spend time with them!  And part of that time was spent at the beach!

    As I looked back through photos of the days, this one seemed like a good one to paint – father, mother, and both brothers, making memories as they built a MEGA sand castle.  No doubt, Luke was remembering the many sand castles his father and brother helped him build. (I could identify with my daughter-in-law’s stance as the one who was content to observe.)

    As I painted, I thought about how they are not only building a castle, but building a family, building a home, building men, building memories, building life.  They are building a castle that lasts longer and is worth so much more than any castle they could ever build with sand — or bricks and mortar for that matter.  Parents are builders – it takes hard work and lots of time,  but so worth it!

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