Grace to Paint

 

Weekly Oil Paintings by Sister Maresa Lilley, SND

G

race to Paint

Weekly Oil Paintings
by Sister Maresa Lilley, SND

Tanglewood

9×12″ oil on canvas panel; click on painting for purchase information.

Woodland and wild growth surround this old stone storehouse. The window seems to look out at the viewer, and the sagging door eases open in invitation. The mystery of what once was is woven all through its present. And of the moment, the lacy heads of Queen Anne’s lace bob and smile at the history.

Apple Serviette

8×8″ oil on canvas panel; click on painting for purchase information.

A small wonderland of apple trees grows in our expansive front yard. We are delighted to eat of the fruits of the land for much of the year, mostly because of our delicious few varieties of apples. This one, I believe, is a McIntosh, with its shiny skin and bursting flavor, so juicy and so sweet. If you arrive at our property in the Springtime, you would be welcomed and engulfed in fragrance and blossom.

Small Harvest

8×8″ oil on gessoed artist panel; click on painting for purchase information.

It was a beautiful Fall Season this year, and the painting above captures a gleaning of its humble gifts. The gardens were lush with Black-eyed Susans and generous with plump, flavorful tomatoes. I thought it fitting to plop the flowers into a small canning jar, as a backdrop to the hand-picked tomato. Voila!  A painting in waiting! Now it is accomplished, and ready to hang.

Surge (Last Stage)

9×12″ oil on cavas panel; click on painting for purchase information.

Above is the finish of yesterday’s post. It is a simple painting in which I only wanted to capture an essence of the soothing, moving water, that so many of us beach birds enjoy.  But Hurricane Sandy recently reminded us of the hidden energy in such a peaceful scene. These days we are still thinking of all those swept aside and devastated by the walls of sand and surge that rammed into America’s east coast. Their lives are painfully disrupted. We pray for their recovery in every way.

Surge (Beginning Stage)

9×12″ oil on canvas panel; click on painting for purchase information.

The rhythm and blues of nature, the beating of the waves against the shore, the cymbal crash of surge on the sand…what can be more renewing of spirit? Here is the underlayer to a very simple seascape. I took “wave photos” many years ago at the edge of the Atlantic on the Outerbanks, and this came from one of them. Here I was going for the big gesture of moving water, and few strokes.

Meet Sr.Maresa

I am Sister Maresa Lilley, a member of the Sisters of Notre Dame, located in Chardon, Ohio, USA. For many years, I have enjoyed a passion that permits me to reflect upon simple reality with a brush in hand. To capture a simple essence on canvas and to discover inherent beauty is a daily immersion.

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