Laurie Pace - Fine Artist

'Colors in the Sun' 6 x 6 inches Oil on Panel Contact me to purchase. $100  Laurie © Laurie Justus Pace     Graphics One Design  2009 The Painting :  I am back on tiny canvas doing pieces for an upcoming show at the Dutch Art Gallery.  It will be the first show of the Artists of Texas aka Daily Painters of Texas.  This is Holbein Duo Oils on panel board.  These are so easy to slip into a frame to hang.  A perfect size to begin to collect. The Thought : Every day is filled with potential.  Despite what you think upon rising, it is a new day and it has every positive possibility you could ever dream of.  The only thing that stands in the way of this new day is often you.  We all tend to draw on our fears and negativity and feelings of failure that we assign ourselves.  If we assign it to ourselves, perhaps we should make a sign and hang it around our neck declaring ourselves as unworthy losers. God does not be...

'Arabian White' 5 x 7 inches Oil on Panel Contact me to purchase: Laurie   © Laurie Pace    Graphics One Design 2009 The Painting :  Silky oil on Panel... delicate color palette to portray this Arabian beauty.  Holbein Duo Oils. The Thought :  This morning I had an adrenalin rush when Terry came into the bedroom as I was stretching awake and he said, "I will always be here to protect you from bad things."  Immediately my brain jumped into high gear thinking in a panic mode...what happened for him to say this to me? Seems like when the ground shakes for an earthquake folks begin to panic seeking protection and a safe place.  I read a story about a little boy that was swinging in the yard as the earthquake hit and his mom hurried outside to bring him inside.  He told her "I am moving like the earth, I can't feel it."  Seems like he side stepped the natural order of panic that follows scary things or bad news.  In the bible David f...

'Evening Blooms' 24 x 36 inches Oil on Canvas Contact me to purchase: Laurie  © Laurie Justus Pace     Graphics One Design 2009 The Painting :  Bring out the shovels... I used them on this piece.  Actually it was the palette knife and very heavy oils. I have not painted this heavy in oils all summer because of humidity. This painting may take days to dry.  I love the musical feel of colors as the flowers are each dancing in the evening breeze.  The Thought : Often when I am working or painting a piece and I think I have a direction, I suddenly realize as I proceed into it that I am lost.  Fortunately most of the time God knows where I am and out of what seems to be building chaos comes to be a beautiful painting that just 'appeared'.     Life is often like that too.  Not only when we are living in chaos and we find wonderful moments or silver linings,  but also when we are working diligently and realize all...

'Moon Overhead' 24 x 36 inches Mixed Mediums Acrylic and Oil on Canvas Contact me to purchase: Laurie © Laurie Pace   Graphics One Design  2009 The Painting: This is the second in the series of negative space from a video tape lesson.  Of course the deep dark purples and blues are my favorite colors.  This painting is a large one,  on a 24 x 36 inch canvas. The Thought:   What do you invest your time in everyday? What exactly is your top priority? There has to be something you put in your heart, strength, direction and soul in doing daily.   I know a good friend of mine now living in Ohio and she gives it all 100 percent to her two little boys in her life.  Sometimes I have to remind her there is still herself and her husband that she needs to keep in focus as well.  It is so difficult with little ones to give back to yourself or to any other relationship.  I remember well those days of children ( and now we have a new 17 ...

'Abundance' 24 x 36 inches Oil on Canvas Contact me to purchase: Laurie Click the painting for full details and close ups. www.ellepace.com/blog/304blog.jpg © Laurie Justus Pace        Graphics One Design   2009 The Painting : This one was on the easel being worked on for over a week. It began with a charcoal sketch.  From there I work in acrylics first establishing a rather sherbet looking painting.  It had all the colors in the wonderful rainbow sherbet.  I dabbled on it on and off; Then Terry gave his view and I added more values. Then two days ago I begin in earnest to pile on the color with my knife. That is my joy and abundance...and here you have simply Abundance.  The Thought : I often write about the squirrels that live in our brains and run the exercise wheel usually at night when we are trying to sleep.   Seems we allow concerns of the day and doubt from our activities to creep into our peace of m...

'Arabian in Winter' 30 x 30 inches Acrylic Varnish Overlays Contact me to purchase, make an offer: Laurie © Laurie Justus Pace Graphics One Design 2009 The Painting : This is another in the Wash Arabian Series. Darker foreboding colors of cold winter...almost icy in a sense. I am not sure this one is done...still debating. The Thought: Purpose and Priorities..... those are the words gelling in my brain this morning. Maybe add a third work, Purpose, Priorities and Prosperity. The Triple P's. As we are individuals; we are made with a uniqueness true to just ourselves. There is no one else like us. We are YOU-nique as I always tell my art students. When God created us, He had a purpose for us to be here. He also has a priority list of what we are here to do in our lifetime. Some of us take longer than others to get to where we are suppose to be accomplishing His list. Many times we miss the entire picture and miss our mission in life, or our purpose. If prosper...

No. 302 Five Painted Ponies 18 x 27 inches Oil on Canvas SOLD off my BLOG. THANK YOU! Contact me to purchase: Laurie Make an offer on this painting, and I will consider all offers. It comes with the miniature one too. It is the prepaint I did several weeks ago...and from it this larger painting. SO, you would get two paintings. © Laurie Justus Pace Graphics One Design 2009 © Laurie Justus Pace Graphics One Design 2009 The Painting : Well hopefully you recognize the prepaint from several weeks ago. Then finally I was able to do the full painting. I will do one more that will be a third painting as I complete exploring the color palette of the first small prepaint. So stay tuned. Meanwhile if you like what you see, make an offer today. As we get into September we get into the four months before the holidays and thoughts of special gifts for those you love are important. I "Pay" it forward quite a bit over this time period. The Thought: The ...

'West Escape' 18 x 24 inches Oil on Canvas SOLD Contact me for paintings: Laurie © Laurie Justus Pace Graphics One Design 2005 The Painting: This is another from the archives you might say. I am painting this morning in my studio as school has started and things may begin to settle into a pattern now! The Thought : Emotions. We were in the mall shopping for school clothes and our daughter leaned over and said "the Emos will be leaving soon..." I had absolutely no clue to the meaning of this remark and sent her a puzzled look back. "the Emos...?" I was then educated by her and older son Morgan that Emos are the new generation of EMOTIONAL people. EMOS. They blog and share their feelings on the internet. She felt they retreat early in the evenings to ponder the day and their feelings. I began to research this new word and new movement and found it to be old and rooted into the 1980's and punk-rock msic. It is characterized by melodic expre...

'Texas Sunflower' 10 x 10 inches Oil on Canvas SOLD Contact me for flowers: Laurie © Laurie Justus Pace Graphics One Design 2005 The Painting : This is an old painting, but one I pulled from Archive to do a larger version of for this next week. I love the play of colors and movement of the brush. This was a small painting and the new one will be quite large...perhaps 30 x 30 in size. The Thought : The hustle is on for Terry to finish the bath as the appraiser is due on Wednesday morning. My responsibility will be making sure the rest of the house literally sparkles and I have a list of ALL the updates we have done. I may have to do a spreadsheet and a slide show....before and after for him. Hummm Before and After. Gives thought to many situations in life, like what was your life before you turned 21 compared to life after 21. OR, what was life like before children compared to after children? What was life before you knew and acknowledged the Father compared to wal...

'Flower Sprays' 18 x 27 inches Oil/Acrylic on Canvas Contact me to purchase: Laurie © Laurie Justus Pace Graphics One Design 2009 The Painting: Another piece from the workshop tape I have been watching. Using negative space to carve out positive pieces....fun to work with color and thick oil paint. The Thought: Not any painting right now as I am busy with school registration and unpacking and settling in. Terry continues the work on the bathroom...slow but sure...very steady and with out complaint. The best part of our vacation is the sleep. I have found I can actually sleep more than five hours in a row. We slept in yesterday morning until 8:30 am. ANYONE that knows me knows I am a five a.m. riser. I told Terry I could get use to the 8-9 hours a night of sleep. God intends for us to be rested. I am the world's worst of always working, getting things done and forgetting about myself and my body's needs. When I do this I am not respecting my body and its...

'White Mare' 18 x 24 inches Oil on Canvas Contact me to purchase: Laurie © Laurie Justus Pace Graphics One Design 2009 The Painting: Strength in color and in body. This mare was filled with curiosity as I painted. Can you tell that? Oil on Canvas and thick paint without impasto. The Thought: We welcomed a new daughter to our family. It has been a journey of two years. Today I will go through the doors of the high school Terry and I graduated from, and enroll her in classes. We spent the day yesterday, moving her things to Dallas and gathering up things from Target like alarm clocks, hangers, etc. Rejoice with us... God is good. We are here to give of ourselves to each other in this earthly journey. No man is an island. Give when you can give and share a smile as it will lighten the day for both of you. I know not what the morrow brings, but I know tonight Terry and I will pray for God's constant direction in our lives. Decisions and direction for each of us i...

'Desert Horses' 20 x 20 inches Oil on Canvas Contact me to purchase: Laurie © Laurie Justus Pace Graphics One Design The Painting: THICK OILS... passionate color, two horses, no impasto.... need I say more? The Thought: I was checking up on the Winsor Newton competition where I am attempting to win $1000 in art supplies for the foster children in North Texas through Covenant Kids. I only submitted ONE painting into the contest. Many folks submitted MANY paintings. If you look at the page I have pasted below you will see that there are only four artists in the top eight. PLEASE support my White Arabian Nights with five stars as I would love to donate these supplies to Covenant Kids to be used in their foster homes. This pictures hyperlinks to the top eight paintings. To Vote please click on my White Arabian Horse to the left of my blog or once connected on this page vote directly on the painting from there. CLICK on the White Arabian (in purple) to the left and please g...

'Thunder Run' 24 x 30 inches Acrylic on Canvas Contact me to purchase: Laurie © Laurie Justus Pace Graphics One Design 2009 The Painting: Not sure if it is done yet. It began with washes of deep blues and violets and then on the very wet canvas I used my fingers to form a horse in the loose water. From that point I began to see the movement and the motion of it stretching forward in the run. Layers of acrylic followed and the play of colors brought out the liveliness. The Thought: Still on work vacation. I truly dislike these. The shower was suppose to be worked on in July and Terry is still putting in 12-14 hours a day tiling. He finished the back wall of the shower with all the intricate piecing and today will begin back with the large chunk pieces of tile. He has a wall about 8 x 6 feet to go and then about 6 sq feet on the floor to finish up. After that comes the layer of mortar that goes on top of the shower pan and then that tile. Still have not heard from ...

'Head Shot' 24 x 30 inches Oil on Canvas Private Collection Contact me for a commissioned painting: Laurie © Laurie Justus Pace Graphics One Design 2009 The Painting : This was a special commission piece for a truly loved soccer player. This is the style painting that I really enjoy but these pieces take months to finish. Careful planning and layers of thinner paint build to the excitement on the canvas. The Thought : Still on vacation but Terry is still working non stop on the bathroom tile. He has one more wall to go. So hopefully tomorrow the wall will be done and then he will tackle the floor. It is a 'match' to the finish between him and the tile. Do you feel that way with life sometimes? I had to remind our youngest daughter of that today. She allowed herself to get into an altercation with a younger child. She is 17. I explained gently that she was old enough to walk away. She is old enough to know what is worth battling over and their situation was n...

'Thirteen Trees' 18 x 27 inches Oil/Acrylic on Canvas Contact me to purchase: Laurie The Painting: From a workshop tape and experimental at best and harder than you think to work backwards for me. In all my 27 years of teaching of working back to front this one was opposite. The blues and purples actually covered the canvas first. The first layer of those colors is acrylic. Then I put in the sky in light blues leaving the contrast shapes. Next step was to put in color on the trunks. I switched to oils on the sky and trunks and then again on the ground as I laid in the colors of purples and blues. The Thought: Working backwards. Well the models are put away. I said a prayer reminding God of how He fed the 5000 and asked if we could somehow manage to get the 5000 models into the closet.The collection has grown over the past two years. I only say working backwards as this is the same closet I unpacked them in 22 months ago when we moved here. Terry packed them up and m...

'Bowing to the Sun' 24 x 24 inches Oil on Canvas Contact me to purchase: Laurie © Laurie Justus Pace Graphics One Design 2009 The Painting: Spice and flow created this unusual composition as I listened to the music of Bright Eyes. This is a group my future daughter-in-law loves and I downloaded it to my Mac so I could try painting by it. Made good moves with the palette knife! The Thought: Vacation continues. I miss being in Montana and Wyoming this summer. We are rather stuck in Dallas heat and Terry continues to work on the bathroom. We have a special visitor this weekend keeping me way busy. Terry unloaded all ALL ALL of his plastic model kits in my studio. There will be no painting until we get them relocated. This requires deep breathing for me. We get no where with discussions. When they were at his dad's house they were in a non air-conditioned space, but here, he wants them air-conditioned. Didn't seem to bother them the last 17 years over the...

'White Knight' 18 x 27 inches Oil on Canvas Contact me to purchase: Laurie © Laurie Justus Pace Graphics One Design 2009 The Painting: This is one of those...where did it come from pieces. I absolutely love it when something just flows out and fits with balance, melody and color. This is in oil and it is applied thickly in layers, without the use of impasto. The Thought: Vacation continues and my time this morning is very short. I would love to have you try to capture a few moments today to just sit and relax your mind. Tame the squirrels running around or let them go outside to play for ten minutes. Keep your hands open in your lap to be receptive and open. Keep your eyes open but do not focus on any one thing. Around you there will be noise or movement inside the house or outside if you are out. What is around you? Can you feel or see the flutter of butterfly wings? Are there shadows dancing nearby from sunlight? What can you smell around you? What makes this ...

'Garden Tree' 18 x 27 inches Acrylic on Canvas Contact me to purchase: Laurie © Laurie Justus Pace Graphics One Design 2009 The Painting : There was a feeling of change as I worked on this composition. It rolled several directions before the image began to form on the canvas. This day I was not "horsing" around. The color patterns are mystical and both soft and strong at the same time. Change is that way in our lives...ever so subtle at moments and WHAM very obvious at other times. The Thought : Well, I almost had the thought above....it was a different day for painting as this emerged and I can't wait to see wait today will bring. Each new day should be like opening a present. Eagerly waiting for each moment as it comes with new opportunities. Note I didn't say new things waiting for you... nothing waits for you. You have to act in positive way to open yourself to new opportunities. If there is not room for change in your life, there will be no ...

'Andalucian Sunrise' 24 x 30 inches Oil on Canvas Contact me to Purchase: Laurie © Laurie Justus Pace Graphics One Design 2009 The Painting : HEAVY oils was the call this past weekend and the need to use thick paint pulled in chunks of color. Contrasts of orange and blue, purple and yellow...set off with peppered amounts of red and green. The Thought : On the road today. With changes happening everywhere around us, every day is a new day with new thoughts. In our lives we tend to stove up with guilty feelings from past issues. Learning to forgive ourselves and move forward is important to healing in life and finding their is a future filled with blessings. If you are like me, sometimes you feel it is the actions of others that keep you in an uncomfortable place in life. This is never true. You have complete control over your actions and your reactions. You can chose. Give yourself the space today to forgive and forget what was. Change cannot happen around you unless cha...

'Hydrangea in Blues' 18 x 27 inches Acrylic on Canvas SOLD from the Blog! Thank you so much. Contact me to purchase: Laurie © Laurie Justus Pace Graphics One Design 2009 The Painting: I had originally blocked this in acrylic and it was slated for oils. The humidity has been so bad here that I have had to paint more with Acrylics. The main focus was composition again and the blues and purples sweeping you through the painting. I miss not being in NY right now. The hydrangeas are gorgeous up there this time of year. The Thought : We are still "on Vacation' as Terry worked 18 straight hours yesterday with out food. I think spending his first day of vacation doing that did not set well. I was worried that he definitely over did and told him today he had to eat through out the day and take short breaks. I will be monitoring that. I did take pictures, but at least I am way behind with ads that are due for magazines that I need to finish up quickly today. Ti...

'Grand Canyon Trail' 24 x 30 x 2 inches Acrylic on Canvas Contact me to purchase: Laurie © Laurie Justus Pace Graphics One Design 2009 The Painting : Second in the summer series of Equine Pieces 2009. I laugh now because I have to resort to acrylic more in the summer as the oils will not cure in our humidity. Takes forever to get them to a point to varnish and mail to the buyer. This was a study in composition using balance and color to pull you from the upper right to the lower left. My circle markings are the same used in the last summer series in 2008 and only used in my summer paintings. Call it a signature if you will. The Thought : I have a postnote on Ann Marcelyn Caver . Click her name for her website. You will see all the fascinating work of this gifted artist. The woman that wrote me from Canada of Ani's passing sent me a connection today from another blog. PLEASE take the moment to read this blog. Dr. Dwags Blawg . I believe it hurt even more to find o...

'Blue Shadows' 5 x7 inches Oil on Watercolor Paper Contact me to purchase: Laurie © Laurie Justus Pace Graphics One Design 2009 The Painting : The musing of color so small is a switch for me. Doing this small paintings truly enable me to see what is possible for the larger pieces. If I were working large I would not have patterned colors quite like they are here. The next step is to paint large and see what happens. Stay tuned. The Thought : I have to blog today about Saturday night. Terry came home from work and hit the master bath working as he continues his quest to complete it. Morgan and I spent the day moving bookcases, books, and hunting down furniture. We have a guest coming and I am cleaning out the extra room. It was late Saturday, close to 7 pm and Morgan left to put gas in his truck for the next morning's drive to work. He phoned and asked if he could pick up hamburgers for dinner and I said yes for TP but no thanks for me. The phone rang again a few ...

'Before the Dawn' 5 x 7 inches Oil on Watercolor Paper Slip into a frame, no glass needed. Contact me to purchase: Laurie © Laurie Justus Pace Graphics One Design 2009 The Painting : I have begun to do small studies for color placement in larger paintings. These are wonderful small pieces that are easily framed in a ready made frame that can hang or sit. Glass is not needed or recommended. Each one is varnished and ready to go. The Thought : Earlier this past week I wrote about friends in seasons in our lives. Some friends stay through all seasons, and walk through all pain and joy in your life with you. Some live far away and although they are not physically there, their presence is spiritually there. Yesterday I learned of the passing of an old dear friend. She painted out those days of high school in the late Sixties with me, she was the flower child, I was the fashion model, and we both loved art. Ani did face painting and painting on rocks for the open house ...

'A Horse of Color' 18 x 27 inches Oil on Canvas SOLD from the blog! Thank You. Contact me to purchase: Laurie © Laurie Justus Pace Graphics One Design 2009 The Painting : Thick color and buttery paint with this oil on canvas. Sometimes you just love the play of contrast and the gillion colors you can come up with. The Thought : Nicknames or name calling is where I am heading off to today. Do you have a nickname? My first nickname growing up was graced upon me by my Aunt Marie. She called me Laurie Boo. That quickly became Boo-boo. Psychologically this might not have been the best choice of a nickname for a young child. Made me wonder if my presence was a boo-boo. As When I was at school in first grade I decided to change my name and began writing Amy at the top of my papers. I can still see my teacher shaking her head at me. I liked the name. As I grew into a brave 8 year old, there was a man at the church that called me by my full name, Laurie Sue. H...

'Three in the Meadow' 18 x 24 inches Oil on Canvas Contact me to purchase: Laurie © Laurie Justus Pace Graphics One Design 2009 The Painting : Musical wanderings of color with the palette knife. The visceral blending of colors across the palette. No impasto with this one, just thick buttery oils laid on in pulled layers blending and creating a melody of it's own. Within the turns and curves you find the horses at play. The Thought : My thought this morning ties into the painting. Each of us is created uniquely. Whatever color we are, whatever sound we make, whatever represents us as a person is unique and one of kind. God's syncopation in creation extends beyond our reasoning power, but somehow despite the differences, some subtle, some obvious, we are all here created in His love. Philip Glass is a favorite composer in our family and our lives. His music is in a large amount of movies and productions. You might not know his name, but if you heard the t...

'The Herd of Carousel Horses' 24 x 36 inches Acrylic on Canvas SOLD before I posted it to the blog. Contact me for commission work: Laurie © Laurie Justus Pace Graphics One Design 2009 The Painting: Painted pulls in Acrylic are not quite the same as the oils. The oils have the viscosity of soft blends of hues as they pull. The acrylics blend but in a more controlled way. Interesting to study the difference between the mediums. The Thought : I received my final adjusted contract today with Brightco Companies . They are using some of my horses on their glass wear cases etc. I am sooo pleased with their product and use the samples myself. They are just launching their lines right now, but if you want any of these, you need to contact them. I may have to take my own pictures for you later this week... They do not do them justice on the website! BUT back to the contract... as I opened it up the top line said: "AMENDMENT TO AGREEMENT BETWEEN GOD AND BRIGHTCO PR...

'Copper Lady' 30 x 30 inches Acrylic on Canvas COMMISSION SOLD Contact me for commission work: Laurie © Laurie Justus Pace Graphics One Design 2009 The Painting : A collector bought a smaller painting from me, the Red Arabian but realized it was not big enough for her home...hence we had to do something larger. She gave me her house colors and copper was important and voila, Copper Lady. The Thought : Some days it makes more sense to climb back in bed and hide under the covers. Some days I ask myself why I even climbed out in the first place. I often wonder about adulthood and all the responsibilities attached to it. You think as you grow older you grow wiser and you recognize when to say no and step away from things. You want freedom from so much responsibility. You remember though that Jesus did not step away from what was ahead of Him. He didn't stop and ask himself, "why did you even get up this morning." All around us in our lives are fear, a...

'Escape of the Carousel Ponies' 30 x 30 inches Acrylic on Canvas SOLD before it was even dry in the studio. Contact me for commission work: Laurie ©Laurie Justus Pace Graphics One Design 2009 The Painting : I painted this in two days with layering. The first day was Saturday as I placed two layers of drippy acrylics. Then on Sunday I began working on two Arabian horses that just were not working on the canvas and I wiped over the surface with more colors. By Sunday afternoon I began to see what was evolving was a playful scene and the two ponies looked like escaped horses from a carousel. Hence the name. My mom named them. She was helping me cover paintings for my two NY gallery openings on Sunday and I was working on this composition. She always has a good comment to make. I am trying to encourage her to take some painting workshops with me. I have never taken any as I teach them... but it might be fun. ANY WAY, a collector had purchased another painting and wanted ...