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Before going very far, I pulled out my color chart and began mixing small samples of colors that spoke to me. Most eventually found their way into the painting.

© Laurie Pace        Graphics One Design 2026 Painting In process Oil on Canvas  SOLD   by Laurie Pace   “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” – Ecclesiastes 3:11 Finding Her in the Paint I began with an older black-and-white photograph. It didn't look exactly like the woman who eventually appeared on my canvas, but it gave me somewhere to begin. I had a 24 x 24 canvas in the studio, so that became the size. No great plan. Just a photograph, a square canvas, and charcoal. Before going very far, I pulled out my color chart and began mixing small samples of colors that spoke to me. Most eventually found their way into the painting. I had absolutely no idea what the background would become. My brain kept saying, Make it dark. Follow the photograph.    My heart kept saying, COLOR. I didn't want to bur...

How in life do you start at the end and arrive at the beginning? I have started over at the end of many things but after writing this blog, it gets twisted.

© Laurie Pace        Graphics One Design 2026 Desert Sun Oil on Canvas  SOLD   by Laurie Pace   The End and then the Beginning “But in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the universe.” — Hebrews 1:2   Yesterday I shared how paint scraped from one unsuccessful painting became something entirely new. There was enough of that wonderful mess of reds, greens, turquoise, browns, gold and white to begin again. This time I returned to the original 30 × 40 canvas—the surface still stained by what had been there before. I began with what was left on the remaining canvas, still stained with original paint.   A single horse emerged at the center of four strong sections of light and dark. Only later did I begin seeing things I hadn't deliberately painted. A wolf, guitars, crosses....   And if you look long enough, perhaps you'll discover something...

Children ran from house to house. Bikes appeared in driveways. Friends gathered without appointments or schedules.

© Laurie Pace        Graphics One Design 2026 BLOCK PARTY Oil on Canvas  SOLD   by Laurie Pace   There was a time when the neighborhood really was part of childhood. Our street in Dallas was only one long block, built on a tall hill. We were the third house up from the bottom, just a block from the elementary school. Families filled the neighborhood, and so did children. Our home was unusual—a contemporary home built in a style similar to Frank Lloyd Wright, filled with glass, garden spaces and color. But outside was where another kind of life happened. Children ran from house to house. Bikes appeared in driveways. Friends gathered without appointments or schedules. And when Dallas actually gave us enough snow? That hill became ours. Can you imagine the sleds coming down it? Years later, at one of our neighborhood block parties, I ran around with my camera photographing the children. One of those moments eventually became ...

Some mornings the studio asks me to slow down.

A Quiet Morning in the Studio © Laurie Pace        Graphics One Design 2026 Oil on Canvas  SOLD   by Laurie Pace   Some mornings the studio asks me to slow down. This commission is one of those rare paintings where I set aside my usual expressive style to honor the quiet relationship between a woman and the horse she loves. Every brushstroke is less about creating a likeness and more about preserving a memory. Not every painting is meant for a gallery. Some are simply meant to go home. Read more at my blog Elle Pace  and see two different small gifts of love and horses.   Elle  Laurie Pace, Elle Pace, Threads of Grace, Quiet Morning in the Studio, horse painting, equine artist, horse commission, oil painting, commissioned artwork, women and horses, artist blog, storytelling through art, studio life, realism in art, original oil painting Shop Available Artwork.  Follow the Spirit of the Paint... wit...

Yet it is all still there, beneath the surface, supporting every brushstroke or piece of our life ....

The book pages disappeared... © Laurie Pace        Graphics One Design 2026 Haunted Mesa Oil on Canvas  SOLD   by Laurie Pace   One thing struck me that I don't think I have put into words before. Book pages disappear. The viewer cannot read them anymore. But they still determine everything that comes afterward. Isn't that exactly how our lives work? The books we've read. The people we've loved. The grief we've carried. The faith we've learned. The roads we've traveled. Much of it can no longer be seen. Yet it is all still there, beneath the surface, supporting every brushstroke or piece of our life that follows. That realization makes this painting above feel even richer to me than it did before. It isn't just about a haunted mesa. It's about the hidden foundations we all carry—and how they quietly shape the beauty that eventually appears. Read more on my website with the entire series of photos from using pages from The ...

What are the Treasures of your heart?

Treasures of the Heart © Laurie Pace        Graphics One Design 2026 BUY A COPY OF THE BOOK     Sometimes an old book becomes more than a collection of paintings. This morning I opened Treasures of the Heart, a book I created years ago, and found myself remembering not just the artwork, but the joy of discovering new subjects and telling stories through paint. It reminded me that every season of life shapes an artist, and every painting becomes part of that journey. Today, I'm heading back to the studio with a grateful heart and a fresh canvas waiting.   Elle Read the full Studio Story on my website and join me as I rediscover the treasures that have always been there. SEO: Laurie Pace • Treasures of the Heart • Studio Stories • Palette Knife Artist • Oil Painting • Artist's Journey • Creative Process • Daily Painting Shop other Available Artwork.  Follow the Spirit of the Paint... with Laurie Pace     ...

Blue Moon Wolf Painting but only the beginning PHOTO here... Click thru on it for the final painting.

BLUE MOON © Laurie Pace        Graphics One Design 2026 Oil on Canvas  SOLD   by Laurie Pace   Sometimes an older painting arrives at exactly the right moment. You can read this and click through to see the final painting.  This morning I rediscovered Blue Moon , one of my favorite wolf paintings, along with every process photograph from its creation. Looking through those images reminded me that every painting begins with uncertainty and grows one layer at a time. That couldn't have come at a better moment. A fresh canvas is waiting in my studio today, and perhaps that's the lesson we all need from time to time—to trust the process, begin anyway, and discover where the journey leads. Visit my Studio Stories to see Blue Moon and the story behind rediscovering both the painting and a little encouragement along the way.     ELLE SEO: Wolf Painting • Palette Knife Art • Contemporary Wildlife Art • Oil Paintin...