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Showing posts with the label original oil painting

The flowers seemed to float across the canvas. They were delicate, almost fragile, and I loved the softness of those first layers.

© Laurie Pace        Graphics One Design 2026 The Gathering Oil on Canvas  SOLD   by Laurie Pace   🌸 The Gathering of the Flowers When a Painting Needs Time to Bloom By Laurie Pace | Elle Pace Sometimes a painting needs time to become what it was meant to be. I began The Gathering, a 30 × 40 oil painting, with a white canvas and the softest touches of pink, lavender, blue, and green. The flowers seemed to float across the canvas. They were delicate, almost fragile, and I loved the softness of those first layers. But something told me the painting wasn't finished. So I set it aside. For nearly two months, those flowers waited in my studio while I wrestled with whether to leave them alone or continue painting. When I finally returned the canvas to my easel, I prayed that I could preserve their delicate beginnings. I began introducing blues and soft purples, building color gradually, layer upon layer. And then something beau...

Beneath the layers of paint, I wrote words that would eventually disappear:

© Laurie Pace        Graphics One Design 2026 Follow the Love Oil on Canvas  SOLD   by Laurie Pace   What if a painting could tell your family's story without showing a single face? Years ago, a collector commissioned Follow the Way of Love, a colorful equine painting in which the horses represented members of her family. She already owned several of my paintings, but this one carried a particularly personal meaning. Beneath the layers of paint, I wrote words that would eventually disappear: Follow the way of love.  Today, the painting hangs above her fireplace—a daily reminder of the family it represents. Sometimes the most meaningful portraits aren't portraits at all. Read the complete story and see the painting's progression at Threads of Grace. Laurie Pace | Elle Pace Google photos: Finished painting and hidden words. Blogger labels: Laurie Pace, Elle Pace, Threads of Grace, Follow the Way of Love, horse painting,...

Perhaps one of the hardest lessons an artist learns is knowing when the painting has said enough.

© Laurie Pace        Graphics One Design 2026 First Flowers Oil on Canvas  SOLD   by Laurie Pace   The Painting I Should Have Left Alone Looking through photographs of my painting Fair Flowers, I discovered something about myself as an artist. The finished painting was beautiful, and it sold. But as I studied the photographs of its progression, I realized I loved an earlier version even more. The flowers were merely suggestions. Colors mingled, edges disappeared, and the viewer was free to imagine the blossoms rather than have every petal explained. But I kept painting. I added definition, contrast, and detail until the bouquet was complete. Today, I find myself drawn back to that earlier moment when the painting was softer, quieter, and full of possibilities. Perhaps one of the hardest lessons an artist learns is knowing when the painting has said enough. I want to paint another bouquet soon. And this time, I hope I'll re...

It was too late. I had begun layering new colors over a painting of my heart. She was gone and there was no turning back.

© Laurie Pace        Graphics One Design 2026 Juxtapose Oil on Canvas  SOLD   by Laurie Pace   Two Days Too Late — The Painting I Wish I Had Kept I loved that painting. It was called Juxtapose, an expressive figurative painting filled with color, movement, and exaggerated forms. It was supposed to go to a gallery in La Jolla, California, before COVID changed everything. But the gallery decided the painting wasn't workable at the time, so I never sent it. BUT... I had a commission waiting, and the canvas was exactly the size I needed.   So I began painting over Juxtapose. Two days later, the telephone rang.   It was the gallery in La Jolla.   She had a buyer for my painting! But by then, I had already begun merging colors over the figures. The painting she wanted was disappearing beneath the beginnings of a commissioned horse painting. There was no going back. The canvas eventually became 'Two Together Always'...

The painting felt heavy. Nothing flowed. The horses seemed awkward rather than natural. Somewhere along the way, I had painted the life right out of them.

© Laurie Pace        Graphics One Design 2026 GRAZING Oil on Canvas  SOLD   by Laurie Pace   Sometimes You Have to Destroy It to Find It I had five horses on my canvas. The bottom layer was just a clean space place the horse layer for me to begin to visualize my direction.  As I painted, the colors were brighter, the paint was thicker, and I had spent hours working on them. But something was wrong. The painting felt heavy. Nothing flowed. The horses seemed awkward rather than natural. Somewhere along the way, I had painted the life right out of them. Adding more paint wasn't going to fix it. I needed to take something away. So I began painting back into the horses, changing passages I had already worked so hard to create. There was no guarantee I would improve the painting. But I knew I couldn't leave it the way it was. Hesitantly movement returned. The heavy passages blended out. The colors began working together ins...

He is simply still—sitting somewhere between the dark and the light, in that quiet place where the noise stops for a little while.

© Laurie Pace        Graphics One Design 2026 The Quiet Place Oil on Canvas    by Laurie Pace   I painted this little boy sometime around 2005. Nearly twenty-one years later, I see something in him I may not have completely understood when I painted him. He is alone, but he isn't lonely. He is simply still—sitting somewhere between the dark and the light, in that quiet place where the noise stops for a little while. We all have these moments. We aren't solving anything or planning what comes next. Sometimes we aren't even thinking. We simply rest. The darkness hasn't disappeared. Life is still waiting for us. But for this one moment, we are safe in the silence. Perhaps we understood this better as children. Sometimes peace isn't somewhere we have to go. Sometimes it is simply sitting still long enough to discover that we are already there. Read the full Threads of Grace story: The Quiet Place — Laurie Pace | Elle Pace Labels: ...

Getting up in the morning with NOTHING on the schedule but the words... paint today!

WIDE OPEN STUDIO DAY © Laurie Pace        Graphics One Design 2026 Fall Horse Play Oil on Canvas  SOLD   by Laurie Pace   Every artist needs a day when nothing is expected. No deadlines. No pressure. Just music, paint, and the freedom to explore. Sometimes the greatest discoveries happen when we stop trying so hard and simply enjoy the process. Read the full story at EllePace.com. Shop other Available Artwork.  Follow the Spirit of the Paint... with Laurie Pace               Shop for Paintings      |     Shop for Prints and Gifts    |  Commissioned Paintings         INSTAGRAM  : @LauriePaceBlog    Facebook Laurie is an international artist, her paintings are collected in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Germany, DuBai, Portugal, Italy, France, Germany, the UK, Ireland, Sweden, Norway, Poland, Canada, ...

Life definitely has is own rhythm were we continue to grow and discover and see things differently.

"It is not about what was yesterday... or about tomorrow. It is truly about today." © Laurie Pace        Graphics One Design 2026 Red Poppies in Blue Oil on Canvas  SOLD   by Laurie Pace   Looking at a painting from 2011 reminded me that every season of life has its own rhythm. As artists, we continue to grow, to see differently, and to discover new colors we might have missed years before. Today, I'm grateful for a quiet house, a peaceful heart, and the promise of new paintings waiting on the easel.   Read the full story at EllePace.com.   Elle Pace Laurie Pace, Elle Pace, Threads of Grace, poppy painting, floral oil painting, palette knife painting, original oil painting, expressive flowers, faith and art, peaceful living, artist reflections, studio life, Texas artist, contemporary impressionism, music and painting, creative journey Shop other Available Artwork.  Follow the Spirit of the Paint... with...