texas artist – Page 2 – Melanie Stokes Art

June 21, 2023June 21, 2023

Just Over the Fence

Just Over the Fence 12×12 oil

This is the view I see from my porch. I often sit out there, drinking coffee in the mornings when the weather cooperates. For several days I have been noticing the morning sun glinting off of the red horse trailer, surrounded by wild sunflowers against the overgrown summer greens. And even if it is the first day of summer and we are already hitting temps of close to 100, I sat under the porch shade and painted from 9 to 10 a.m.

Yes, I have things I need to get painted in the studio. But, this morning, painting en plein air became the priority. While I painted, I listened to the birds sing, felt the warmth of sunshine, and even detected a coyote pup barking somewhere in the brush. All of this was necessary to remind me of why I paint what I paint. A snippet of time, an hour actually, was recorded with colors of paint and a variety of textures to proclaim beauty, and wonder, and miracles that grow from seeds. And I never tire of examining and marveling at it – this natural world in which we live.

Just Over the Fence – 12×12 en plein air

March 17, 2023March 17, 2023

Lifting Spirits…

When artists are coming to town, people in Columbus, Texas get prepared. The members of Milam Street Church of Christ noticed that the steeple on their church needed a good cleaning. But, with scheduling problems, the cleaning was delayed until the week of Paint Texas 2023. No problem. I painted the church before the cleaning and assured them I would just paint out the mold on top! (The photo on the bottom shows the pressure washer arrived the next day.)

Forgiveness. Maybe God’s forgiveness is like an artist who overlooks the parts that aren’t aesthetically pleasing and makes them right. Like a pressure washer blasting the steeple clean, Jesus can cleanse our unworthiness with his forgiveness.

I am attracted to church architecture. I usually end up painting a church in every plein air event. Spires and steeples in church architecture have been around since the Middle Ages and are used to lift our eyes heavenward, pointing us to heavenly realms, lifting our spirit to be touched by the Creator, God.

I titled this painting, Lifting Spirits. The steeple does that. The image of the pressure washer making things clean does that. And the people in this congregation do that with their hospitality! Thanks, Columbus, for a good week at Paint Texas 2023.

This 9×12 oil is available at Live Oak Art Center, Columbus, TX.

February 23, 2023February 23, 2023

New Every Morning

This view: this huge expanse of a sky, with only a few distant wind turbines breaking the horizon, is what I see each morning when I walk out on my front porch. The colors, the shapes, the atmosphere, the smells or sounds may vary from day to day. But one thing I know for sure is that the view is going to be there. It will be new to me, every morning.

And it reminds me of an Old Testament Bible verse,

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23

Written at a time when God’s people had truly messed up, the prophet Jeremiah was lamenting all that was wrong. Yet, he doesn’t give up hope in the steadfast love of God and His faithfulness. He believed that God would not turn his back, would not grow weary of their shortcomings, would not hold back His love from them. New beginnings are welcomed by the God who provides a way for us to give up and start over. His mercies are new every morning!

And when I walk to the door, with my morning coffee, the sunrise reminds me that it is a new day, a new beginning, a new grace, an opportunity to be better than the day before, with God’s strength and through His love.

February 21, 2023February 22, 2023

Breakthrough!

I woke up early. It was a cold, cobalt blue kind of morning sky. I wasn’t sure if the sun was going to appear to warm the earth, or not. But when it did…WOW…the yellows and oranges spilled out, breaking through the shadows of blues, until the sky was brilliant with a breakthrough of color!

Can you remember times in your life when you had breakthroughs? For example, when someone helped explain something in Math that just seemed impossible to comprehend and then suddenly, you said, “Oh, now I get it!!” Now, that was a breakthrough. (hypothetically speaking, of course)

This painting reminds me that breakthroughs are good. Searching for truth and understanding is good. Looking for guidance with wisdom is good. Breakthroughs may change the way we look at the day ahead, as we are reminded of the Presence of God.

September 22, 2022September 22, 2022

Separation Day

The Mama Cows gathered at the corral gate, wondering why the calves were being herded into the trailer, not knowing that the young ones were about to be taken away.

This was the scene I captured with my camera on the day that the year old calves were taken to another place. (We won’t speculate as to whether they were going to another grazing area or to market. The cows on our property belong to someone else, who leases the pasture from us.) We get attached to the cows, watch them from birth, give them names, feed them by hand (well, my husband does that.) And we are glad to have them on our acreage.

Being the novice rancher that I am, I did not expect what came next… As the truck and trailer rattled away with five calves, the cows began to bellow! And they bellowed and bellowed for about two days. They knew those babies were missing. They thought if they kept calling, they would come back. They knew they were supposed to be checking on them and keeping them safe.

As the wails went on, my “mama heart” hurt for their pain. Can cows have emotional pain? They wanted to care for their young, but the new distance was making that impossible. I thought about the times I’ve had physical and emotional distance from my own children. I thought about women who lose children through custody battles, illnesses, adoptions, and miscarriages. I thought about mothers and children and the heartaches that come with the joys. And then, I remembered… for goodness sake, we are talking about cows, here!

The stark contrast of the darks and lights drew me into the scene. The barricade of the gate seemed so final against their faces. The cows’ attention toward those leaving was a shared experience for the ones left behind. Their wails of mourning subsided after a few days. And, once again, the remaining cows became content to stroll from back to front pasture, searching for the perfect blade of grass.

September 4, 2022September 4, 2022

Glory Fills the Skies! a Solo Show of Visual and Written Observations by Melanie Stokes

What a thrill it is to see three years worth of paintings and writings, all hanging in one gallery!

At Warehouse Living Arts Center 119 W. 6th Avenue Corsicana, TX

If you have been following this Texas journey, you know how I’ve been obsessed with observing the big skies and painting them. These twenty five paintings are each 24×30 gallery wrapped canvas with painted edges. Though I do paint en plein air often, these were painted in the studio from my own photos and studies. And most of them were inspired from our property, right here in Mart, Texas.

The show, Glory Fills the Skies!, will be at the Warehouse Living Arts Center in Corsicana, Texas until September 28. I am grateful to the many who came to the opening reception to share this experience with me. And I love watching people use the QR codes to read The Story Behind the Paintings on my website.

Here are a few other opportunities to visit the show during September:

Weekdays until September 28 – 12 noon to 5 p.m.

September 8, 6:00-7:15 p.m. Meet the Artist (Before opening of Our Town theatre production by WLAC)

September 12 – 10 a.m. – FBC Waco Senior Life Group Visit

SATURDAY, September 17 – 12 noon to 5 p.m.

AND, be watching for the release of the images on my website for those who would like to visit and purchase via internet. Sign up for my newsletter to be sure you are notified when released.

Each painting is $550, (plus sales tax and shipping.) A few samples…

Glory Fills the Skies!

June 24, 2022June 24, 2022

Cloud Cathedral

I spotted the sheep, scattered across barren land, as we travelled through west Texas. My husband and I had been discussing the need for rain in this area of the state. This image continued to develop in my mind as we rode along. And, after a few sketches to consider the composition, I had an idea for a new painting.

Tall wind-ravaged cedars, making me think of columns in a cathedral, pointed upward at the swirly thick clouds, as if begging them to drop rain. The sheep were grazing in different directions, seemingly oblivious of each other. And a Bible verse I learned long ago came to my mind. “All we, like sheep, have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:6

(More contemporary language says it this way — “All of us were like sheep that had wandered off. We had each gone our own way, but the Lord God gave him the punishment we deserved. “) As a child, I learned that this spoke of Jehovah God sending Jesus to earth to rescue all of us wandering sheep from our sinful selves. And I accepted it and believed.

Sometimes sheep can be really stupid. They can wander with no direction. They only think of themselves. They get lost.

As I enter this Cloud Cathedral, I see the tall cedars pointing upward in reverence and the winds of hope swirling overhead with power, leading me to thoughts of the Lord God who sent Jesus. He brings redemption, forgiveness, and guidance in being more than sheep. And maybe, lacking a pipe organ in this cathedral, a shepherd boy’s flute plays a haunting, child-like melody, reminding me of Jesus when I wander from truth.

December 21, 2021June 14, 2022

Benediction

When I was a child, I sat by my father in church, because my mother sang in the choir every Sunday. At the end of each worship service, people would gather up their things to leave. I knew the end was coming because the bulletin said, “Benediction.”

Now if you looked up the definition of “benediction,” it would not say “time to start gathering the bulletin you drew on, put up the half pencil in the pew rack, and pick up your Bible and sweater to leave.”

I learned as I grew older that a benediction is a blessing, an expression of hope for the coming days, and a petition for guidance as we part.

As I come to the close of painting this collection of Texas Skies, I have decided this one shall be called, “Benediction.” It is at the end. It is the twentieth 24×30 sky canvas that is hanging in my studio. It is painted with the blessing of spiritual peace I’ve experienced in this process. It is painted with a hope that it will bring peace to the ones who view it. It is painted with prayers of petition for many. And, painted with a prayer for God to guide my direction as I look for venues for showing this body of work.

May the grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ, be now and forever more in our hearts and minds, as we continue to serve Him on this earth in the days ahead.

And because this is my Benediction, I will now gather up the paintbrushes and prepare to leave.

December 14, 2021December 14, 2021

In Green Pastures

“He makes me lie down in green pastures…”

The words of Psalm 23 came to me as I painted.

One day last winter, I stopped and took a photo of neighboring cows. The scene caught my attention because in a landscape of bare winter trees, the cows were resting contently on the verdant green grass; lush grass that seemed out of place in winter on the Blackland Prairie soil.

“He makes me lie down in green pastures…” Are there times when God does help us slow down, stop, or lie down long enough to look at the green pastures of provision he gives amidst the harshness of life? Maybe so.

“He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul.” Psalm 23. Surely, He does, … with goodness and mercy.

September 4, 2021August 21, 2023

Rest and Unrest

I have struggled with this painting for a few weeks in my studio. There were moments when I thought I was finished. And I let it rest… only to come back to it a few days later, pick up the brush, and continue to struggle with it more.

It was a peaceful painting when I began. The hay bales at rest in the freshly cut field, the soft clouds floating along with a breeze, and the muted colors described the peace I wanted to convey. But, then those Caracaras floated by… They are also called Mexican Eagles. Beautiful as they are, there is something foreboding about their presence. They are predators (for which I am grateful, for they eat the field mice). Yet, something about that one sitting on the hay bale, as if he rules the roost, just added a touch of unrest to my painting that brought the struggle.

Then, I began to see the message. The Rest and Unrest of Our World these days is the topic we can’t ignore. We are divided on opinions. We struggle with what is true. We are encouraged one minute and disappointed the next. The peace that we know is invaded by predators that we are not sure about.

I decided to leave the Yin and Yang feeling in my painting. I can’t ignore it in reality. I have to learn to make peace with it, just as I have learned to make peace with my environment. My peace comes from an eternal God who reaches down and offers his Peace to us through accepting that Jesus is our Savior from this fallen world. God’s Peace is bigger, brighter, and more lasting than the predators of this world. I will continue to rest in that thought. (And I’m laying down the paintbrush on this one.)