texas artist – Melanie Stokes Art

March 26, 2024March 26, 2024

Pause and Ponder

melaniestokesart.com — Pause and Ponder
12×12 oil
available at Art Center Waco

Although a Solar Eclipse is often a “once in a lifetime” experience, it is a phenomenon known in all continents around the world. For centuries, people have pondered and wondered at the heavenly spectacle.

When the Art Center Waco announced their exhibit, Eclipse: Shining Shadows, to coincide with the 2024 Eclipse over Waco, I immediately thought of a photo from years ago! My son, Mark Stokes, had photographed a powerful image of a child viewing the 2001 eclipse in Mozambique. I remembered the impact of light and shadow in the photograph and the inquisitive expression on the child’s face. I asked the photographer for permission to use it as a photo reference for a painting. (How could he turn down his mother?)

The message of this painting is a celebration of humanity’s sense of wonder, and gratitude for the gift of sight. We, who behold, bond with emotions of awe and reverence as we pause and gaze into the unknown. We remember the day that we saw the eclipse and paused to ponder the unfamiliar sight. (Sure, there are clear scientific explanations we can give.) I choose to see through the eyes of a child and be amazed!

January 29, 2024January 29, 2024

Clearing the Fog

I hung a new triptych of sky paintings over our mantle this week. (Actually Steve hung them. I directed.) I have been working on this 40 x 52 project since Christmas. The January weather, with its cold and clouds, had covered me in a literal fog… and brain fog. I didn’t feel motivated or clear about a new direction. So I pulled out my sky photos and decided to use the canvases nearby and just paint for days, off and on, throughout the long month of January. There were a few other paintings going on at the same time, but just things to check off the to-do list. Nothing I felt passionate about painting.

Here are close-up views of some passages of this painting – I paint clouds with Ultramarine Blue, Cadmium Red, Cadmium Yellow Light and Titanium White. There is some Cerulean Blue in the background sky.

It was appropriate that we hung the triptych on Saturday, the 27th of January, because it was the FIRST day of sunshine we had seen in at least seven days! Socked in for a week with steady rain, mud puddles, cold temps, (and I was recovering from a root canal on top of that!)…I was debating whether or not I suffered from Seasonal Affective Disorder (it’s a thing) …SADness for sure!

And then… the rain passed on to our friends in the East, the clouds were blown away, the sun came out to dry the mud, and our cows were happy. My spirits were lifted, like the edges of the clouds that drift upward in lacy tendrils. Hope in spring returned to us!

Once again, my painting was therapeutic for myself. I didn’t know the impact, until I saw it on my wall on that sunny Sunday! It had filled days in the studio, as I listened to music, thought about life..and eternity. And, it had soothed my soul to mix paint and pull it around on canvas.

No one likes to listen to a complainer. So, I will move on into spring. Even though we still have to winter the month of February, the clouds hang above our fireplace to remind me that the fog will lift, spirits can soar, and light comes to us, again.

November 8, 2023November 8, 2023

Protection and Provision

After a long, hot Texas Summer of no rain, we (as in the collective, whole county “we”) were thrilled to see the storm clouds of September rolling in. The dark clouds and hailstorms came, but we all were glad to see the parched earth become covered in green again.

The water in the tanks, ponds, lakes and streams began to rise and the cattle did not have quite as far to stretch into the mud to obtain a drink. Now in November, Lake Waco is able, after a few years, to supply water to all the households which depend on it.

The photo references for these paintings were taken on a walk through our property. Both images were striking enough to make me want to paint them. And as I painted, the titles, Protection and Provision, came to my thoughts

How many times have I used those words, as I prayed for my own or another’s needs? “Lord, grant us Protection and Provision in these days.” Two “P” words that sound poetic, but are packed with power and meaning.

I hope the images speak. The titles speak. But my words will also speak of the Protection of an Almighty God. I see this in a variety of circumstances, in amazing miracles that have happened, and in retrospective realizations as I live through these years. I live in gratitude for the Provision of daily needs, as I continue to trust God. Just when we think the water is as low as it can go, the rains come. We are restored and ready to move ahead.

August 22, 2023August 22, 2023

Sedona Sunrise

Steve and I have been married 45 years! (yikes, I know) And we try to go somewhere special at least every five years. Now that we live on the West side of the Mississippi River, I requested a trip to Sedona, Arizona. Steve was on board so we took a road trip through Arizona and New Mexico in early June.

One of his requests was to go on a jeep ride with Safari Jeep Tours. We chose the one at sunrise to see animals waking up to a new day. Both of us are happy with cameras in our hands!

We barely slept, in order to be there at 4:45 a.m. (yes, you read that right). As it turned out, we were the only ones for the tour and had our guide, Cowboy Bob, all to ourselves. He was a jewel, a rough diamond in a cowboy hat. Bob had lived in the Arizona Mountains all his life and was a wealth of knowledge about plants, animals, the early inhabitants, and local folklore.

As the sun rose over the red rock mountains and brushed the tops with golden sunlight, the scenes were magnificent! We bounced along on the rugged terrain in the crisp morning air, holding onto the open jeep with one hand, and clicking cameras with the other.

Back home, weeks later, with all the photos sorted and stored on my computer, I went to my studio and chose the largest canvas I had (a 30×40). I didn’t really get the perfect photo to use as a reference for a sunrise painting. But this one evolved from several photo references and the memories and emotions of color in our experience.

And that’s the Story Behind this Painting.

This one will be available in From the Ground Up! September 23-November 4, 2023 at the Cultural Activities Center, Temple TX.

July 28, 2023July 28, 2023

Reminiscence

Magnolia Trees! As I stood beneath the huge magnolias and breathed the scents of the South in this arboretum, the place took me back to memories in Georgia: the shade of the sturdy leaves that grew low in our Perry, GA yard when my sons were two and four; the trees that gathered around Sweetheart Circle on the GA Southern campus, watching students come and go; the ones that adorned every Southern home of more than fifty years of age in my hometown; and the ones that I saw scattered along I-16 with white blooms beaming in the Georgia sunlight! As I reminisced, not specifically, but with an overall general sweet feeling, I realized that I missed painting magnolias…and hydrangeas…and camellias and azaleas.

And yes, as a matter of fact, I do live near Waco, Texas –home to “Magnolia Silos” and such. But a single magnolia, planted in the yard of a newly renovated home has a long way to go to reach the heights and depths of these ancient magnolias of a more southern latitude.

You have seen me painting cacti and prairie grass and wildflowers in these latter years. And I am loving the varied perspective it brings to an artist to be in a new location. ( Be on the lookout for the next solo show – September 23 – November 4 – in Temple, TX. It is entitled “From the Ground Up!” and the paintings are all Texas inspired!)

This painting was just something I had to get out of my system. A painting of a magnolia, or a seagull on the coast, or a tree covered in Spanish Moss connects me to my roots. And I breathe deep and reminisce.

July 24, 2023July 24, 2023

What’s in a Name?

How I sign my name on a painting and why I sign it this way…

Signatures in the bottom corners of paintings

My handwriting has certainly changed over the years. From the curly cued letters of childhood, through the teen phase of dotting my i with a heart, and into the mixture of capitals and cursives that quickly come from my hand today, the style has changed much.

One reason my signature has changed is that I am often signing with a paintbrush! (Go ahead, try it! It takes some practice.) For that reason, most of my early paintings are signed with a black Sharpie pen. Future generations will look at the paintings and say, “Ah, it’s from her ‘Sharpie Period’ – when she didn’t know how to sign her name with a paintbrush.”

Now, there are two variations of the signature that you might see. If my first and last name is signed, it is a large painting, most likely done in a studio. But when I am painting outside, en plein air, I am in a hurry. The 11×14 canvas or smaller lends itself to a quick “MStokes,” scratched into paint with the tip of a palette knife… if the paint is heavy enough there. When my mother named me, she was thinking more about the melodic sound of the three syllables and the sweetness of Olivia de Havilland’s character in Gone With the Wind, than how long it would take me to write it with a paintbrush!

And here is the inside story of the Story Behind the Paintings — Looking at the signatures, you might notice that the cross piece of the t in Stokes is rather accentuated. I do this purposefully. Crossing the t is the last thing I do in my signature. And when I cross the t, I try to place it higher and wider than the other letters. As I cross the t, I remind myself that I am painting for the God who loves me enough to submit to death on a cross. I am reminded that I am painting through His grace. I am reminded that I belong to Jesus. And that my name needs to reflect His name.

A good name is better than great riches,

and good favor is above silver and gold.

Proverbs 22:1

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.