The Space Between - new daily oil painting of Lake Mineral Wells

The Space Between
Mark Nesmith
Oil on Canvas
6" x 6"
2016

Click here to buy this painting.

I'm still dreaming of spring and the lake. This is another recent painting inspired by my memories of vacationing at Lake Mineral Wells with my kids. We stayed in one of the little screened cabins at the waters edge. Across the inlet from us was an outcropping of trees and boulders, and in the distance a small island set against the distant shore. The mornings were bathed in a brilliant bright and warm light. I really need to get back there again soon! This is an 6" x 6" oil painting on 1 1/2" deep gallery wrapped canvas. The sides are finished in black and the canvas comes wired and ready to hang.

"Mudbugs" oil painting and the joys of a Southeast Texas crawfish boil

Mudbugs
Mark Nesmith
Oil on canvas
24" x 30"
2014

Click here to buy this painting.

I grew up in Beaumont, TX, but after graduating from Lamar University with my BFA in 1998 I moved to Dallas. Over the years trips back home to SE Texas became less frequent as I wound up working more and more to support my growing family, but the people, places, and culture of SE Texas and the Gulf Coast was always in my heart and my mind.

 

When my marriage was coming to an end in 2011-12 I moved back to my hometown where most of my family still lives as a much needed reboot for myself. Beaumont had changed a lot in the years I'd been gone. There were still lots of familiar places, but most of the friends I'd had growing up had moved away. I reconnected with a few people from my past, fell in love with my beautiful muse Elizabeth, and have been working on my happily ever after ever since.

 

One of the things I did after moving back was to start painting and drawing my new (old?) surroundings, and one of the ways I started meeting new people and making new friends was at the crawfish boils at The Pacesetter Lounge which my girlfriend was managing at the time. I like crawfish ok (never liked all the work it takes to peel them though,) but what really makes a crawfish boil special is sitting around with everyone sharing stories and laughs over a cold beer and some spicy crawfish. This painting is kind of a still life, but for me it's a reminder of all those evenings spent with good friends making new memories for a new life. This painting was originally exhibited as part of my one man show at The Art Studio, Inc. entitled "The Way Back Home" and recently was on display at Third Coast Gallery in Galveston. I think it's time to find these mudbugs a good home.

New forest oil painting "Against the Sky" by Mark Nesmith

Against the Sky
Mark Nesmith
Oil on Canvas
10" x 8"
Click here to purchase this painting.

As a boy I practically lived in the woods. There was a small pine forest behind my home in Beaumont, and I spent my time out of school in the woods building forts, climbing trees, racing, and just losing myself in the sights and sounds of nature. Later hiking trips through the Big Thicket only reinforced my love for the tall and graceful verticals of an East Texas pine. The sight of the towering pines against the sky has always entranced me, and to this day I feel my eyes and thoughts pulled to the shimmering sky seen through the branches of the pines when driving anywhere in SE or East Texas.It's a sight I've always felt compelled to paint and draw, but generally haven't felt much success with. 

Lately I've been wanting to take another stab at the woods and have been planning a few large canvases featuring the Big Thicket area. I've started to do a few small paintings to kind of find my path, so to speak.Here a couple of pines tower above the distant treeline and are silhouetted against the vibrant pink clouds at sunset. True to the form of my recent paintings this canvas has thick impasto with layers of color and textures.

New beach landscape oil paintings "Bolivar Suite" by Mark Nesmith

"Bolivar Suite"

Oil on Four canvases, each 6" x 6"

2014

Been awhile since I've shared anything here, but now that Spring is around the corner i find myself dreaming of the coast more and more. Those dreams are starting to work their way onto my canvases again. I know I posted some of these when I was making them a few months ago, but don't know if I shared the finished series. I call it "Bolivar Suite". Each of the four canvases is 6" x 6" and features the same view of Bolivar Flats with different light. These have been on display as part of my show in Baytown and are now listed on the Daily Paintworks site individually.  Hopefully we'll have warmer temps and some sun soon to enjoy our beautiful coast.  I've attached links to the Paintworks site if you'd like to view more or bid in the auctions.

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/buy/auction/335351

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/buy/auction/335352

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/buy/auction/335355

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/buy/auction/335356

New oil painting "The Burning Down" by Mark Nesmith

The Burning Down

Oil on Canvas

12" x 12"

2015 

Click here to purchase this painting. 

I'm often drawn to the tree lined shore of a lake or river. Here the pines at the distant bank are nearly silhouetted against the fiery sunset. It can be a challenge to balance my love for loose, thick paint with the demands of representation on a small canvas. Here thick impasto works hand in hand with thinner veils of color and subtle sgraffito effected by the handle of a brush, a whirl of movement and explosion of color that seems on the verge of burning itself down.

The Wee Hours, New Daily Oil Painting

The Wee Hours
Mark Nesmith
Oil on Canvas on Panel
8" x 10"
2014
Click here to purchase this painting 

Hay bales are a common sight in Texas.  Venture outside the city limits on a FM road or highway and you're bound to pass fields and pastures full of them.  They're not at all like the fluffy stacks of Monet's rural France countryside.  Hay bales make an interesting geometric contrast to the organic and free form nature of the Texas landscape.

This is a stretch of pasture I pass often on Hwy 124 near Fannett, Tx.  The night before had seen heavy cloud cover and was pretty much a dreary, overcast and stormy day, but the sun would not be denied its' glory in the morning. 

I love times like this, when the sun comes breaking through the clouds casting its' magical, golden glow across the world.  The greens take on such a unique quality, almost glowing like an emerald.  The light can seem otherworldly and eerie after a storm, and the brilliant sunrise on this day just added to the intensity of the light.

I started this painting Thursday.  I often work on these little paintings throughout the day at work, catching a few minutes here and there between classes or at lunch.  It's my little bit of fresh air during the day of teaching.  I had a pretty good start on this painting, having laid in the clouds and the sky, when we got word of the winter storm and impending school closure the next day.  Needless to say, I didn't get to finish working on this painting until today. 

I usually don't like to have such a delay, particularly on small paintings like this one.  I sometimes find a delay like that causes a disjointed effect in the work.  I'm inevitably in a different frame of mind than before, but for whatever reason I found it quite easy to pick back up on this painting today. 

I really enjoy the contrast of the clouds and the bright sunrise, and the greens are even more intense in person.  I'm pretty happy with this little painting, and think maybe I'll have to try my hand at a few more hay bales before long.  Who knows, maybe they'll even turn into a series like the famous French master.

here

Tibideaux's Truck Too - new daily oil painting

Tibideaux's Truck Too
Mark Nesmith
Oil on Oil Primed Linen Panel
5" x 7"
2013

A few weeks ago I painted the old Plymouth truck outside Tibideaux's New Orleans Kitchen in Beaumont, Tx. After I put it up for auction I found out a friend who teaches at my school was bidding on it and determined to win that painting.

Well, unfortunately the bids didn't go her way. I figured I enjoyed painting that old truck the first time so I'd just paint her a new version. This one is a slightly different view. It's not quite as head on as the first, but was just as much fun to paint. I love all the variations in the rusted red body of this beat up old road warrior.

New daily oil painting "Camp Wisdom"




Camp Wisdom
Mark Nesmith
Oil on Canvas
5" x 7"
2013
Click here to bid in the auction for this painting.

If you're thinking of campgrounds in Texas, Dallas probably doesn't come to mind, but tucked away on the south side of the city is Camp Wisdom and it's more than worth the short commute from the city.

Camp Wisdom is the home to Billy Sowell Scout Camp and Cub World. The camp is located 11 miles from downtown Dallas on 371 acres of land. In addition to the camping sites and shooting range, Camp Wisdom has some unique and very cool features including a frontier fort, a life size castle pirate ships, underground tunnel, and more.  My kids and I really enjoyed out campouts here.  You can find out more about this great Circle 10 campground at http://www.circle10.org/camp-wisdom-billy-sowell-scout-camp.

This 5" x 7" oil painting on an oil primed linen panel is from my last campout there with my two boys and my daughter.  Not far from the shooting range we stumbled upon this picturesque scene.  I painted this alla prima in about two hours spread out throughout my day. 

 

Two Pears Too (new daily oil painting)



Two Pears Too
Mark Nesmith
Oil on Gessoed Hardboard
6" x 6"
2013

Still life hasn't ever really been my thing, but every once in a while I feel the urge.  A few months ago I did a small 5" x 7" oil painting of these two pears I called "Lean on Me." I actually drew this 6" x 6" square version at the same time but never got around to painting it until today.

I was interested in the way these two pears just naturally resembled an intimate couple.  The stem of one pear seeems like an arm wrapped around the shoulder of the other.  This is painted on a gesso primed hardboard panel.  I've had pretty mixed results painting on the hardboard in the past.  I have a preference for stiff bristle brushes, but on panel the bristle brushes didn't work very well.  Here I've switched to a softer synthetic and am much happier with the results. 

New daily painting "Angel"

Growing up Catholic I was always surrounded by religious iconography. I always say my first real art inspiration was the stain glass windows and statues at church.  

This angel comes from the old cemetery behind St. Ann in Kaufman, Tx. Old cemeteries are always filled with fascinating sculptures and headstones. Growing up places like this were the closest I could come to the antiquities of Rome and the Greeks.

This is a small 5"x7" oil painting on canvas mounted on board. I painted this alla prima in about 1 1/2 hours spread out through the afternoon. I particularly enjoyed the contrast of the brilliant blue sky against the pale green and blue tints of the stone statue. The brighter orange highlights come from patches of moss growing on the sculpture.

New daily oil painting of the sun setting

I've had this image in my head for a while and have been making a few small studies anticipating a larger painting. This is an 8" x 10" oil painting on canvas mounted on board. I started with a pretty loose pencil drawing then scrubbed in the blue sky. 

What keeps this image in my mind is the way the clouds seem to explode from the hotspot of the sun behind the trees. As I painted this it became an excuse to play with thicker paint and brushstrokes. I always feel such energy watching the world as it seems to die at sunset, yet at the same time I'm filled with peace. I've tried to let the paint handling convey a bit of the vibrant, charged atmosphere while the deep blue sky and soft greens of the foreground lend a bit of tranquility.

New daily painting "Watermelon" with step by step photos

Watermelon
Mark Nesmith
Oil on Canvas mounted on Board
8" x 10"
2013

Here's my 8"x10" daily painting of my son eating watermelon.  He has a face full! I started this with a pretty detailed pencil drawing, then painted alla prima in two or three short sessions throughout the day.  Altogether I worked about 2 1/2 hours on this painting. 

I took several pictures while I painted.   Here's a step by step collage through the various stages of completion.  After I was satisfied with the pencil drawing, I mixed up 3 or 4 basic flesh tones and layed in the arms and face.  From there I established the background color and the darker shadows of the hat before painting the hat and the watermelon.  I then worked my way down through the folds of the shirt to the wooden picnic table.  I added a few blue tints as highlights on the table and the hand in shadow, and then finished by adding some brighter flesh highlights on the cheekbone, ear, and arms. 

"Watermelon" step by step
Mark Nesmith
Oil on Canvas mounted on Board
8" x 10"
2013

Charcoal drawing for new painting

Although in recent years much of my work has been focused on the landscape, I've always been fascinated by the human form. Portraits and nudes were my earliest inspirations and much of my study in art school at Lamar University revolved around life drawing classes.

Although I've continued to draw and paint portraits over the years, I haven't done any nudes in quite awhile. Recently I've been feeling the pull towards figurative work again and even started making it to the life drawing sessions at The Art Studio in Beaumont to get back into practice.

This is the charcoal drawing for a painting I'm starting of my friend and favorite model. She has amazing spiral curls of red hair and a beautiful, statuesque figure. She used to model at the studio back when I was in college and I must have done dozens if not hundreds of drawings of her back then. Seems fitting that she's the inspiration for my return to the figure. I'm planning to play up some deep red and purple hues throughout this painting to accentuate her hair.

Originally I left out the dresser in the background but really wanted to include the framed nude drawing she has so I added it later. I didn't really care for it at first so I gessoed it out, but then decided the composition needed it so I drew it back in again, although I moved it a bit to the left this time. I also moved the drawing from the left to the right side of the dresser which seems to give a nice counter balance to the weight of the dark headboard and pillows on the bed.

I'm pretty pleased with the drawing as a whole now and have toned the canvas so its ready to start painting when I get back from my weekend trip.

This canvas is 24" x 48" and will be the largest oil painting of a figure I've done in at least a decade. With me luck!

Bolivar Flats

Here's a new 12" x 16" oil painting on canvas from my recent trips to Bolivar Flats near Galveston. This was painted in two short sessions over the past two days in between working on some larger paintings. Lots on people put down Texas beaches, and it's true that there's often too much liter and waste lining the beach, but I've always found the wild, overgrown patches of the less touristy beaches like Bolivar Flats to be sublimely beautiful. I really love the rhythm of the tall sea oats against the flickering bright light reflecting off the sand.

More progress on a new painting -- Heavy Cloud (now with a light shower)

I managed to get quite a bit of painting done yesterday including a few hours on this painting whose finish has seemed to elude me. I repainted the sky areas around the clouds and layered some more color in the clouds at the top right. I added some variety and color to the dark mass of trees at the bottom, and I've managed to indicate the light shower of rain starting at the bottom right half. I'm pretty happy with most of the painting now. I think darkening the sky beneath the clouds and added the lighter parts of the trees really helped being the painting together. I want to do a bit more with the darker clouds. The transition from the clouds to the sky isn't quite right and I want a bit different feel in the brushwork. Then a few highlights with the clouds and maybe ill finally be done with this one.

Dealing with Depth in a New Daily Oil Painting of the beach at Bolivar Flats, TX

Boliver Flats #2
Mark Nesmith
Oil on Oil Primed Linen Panel
5" x 7"
2013

Click here to buy this painting.

Here's another new 5"x7" daily painting if the beach at Bolivar Flats, Tx. Instead of the long diagonal view along the shoreline I had in yesterday's painting, today I'm facing the horizon head on. Converging diagonals automatically convey a string sense of depth. The space in a view like this is much more subtle and can be tricky to handle. I exaggerated the color shifts and contrast in the short expanse of beach, and tried to use softer edges in the distance, leaving the livelier juicy brushwork for the salt grass and seaweed up front. Strong texture and crisp edges tends to project forward in space while the smoother transitions recede. This same effect can be seen in the sky. The light blue towards the distant horizon was kept soft, while the closer clouds were painted with strong brushstrokes. This is an oil painting on oil primed linen panel. I'm very excited and super inspired about this new series of Gulf Coast paintings. I hope you enjoy them too!

Gulf Coast Beach Vacation and New Daily Oil Painting "Bolivar Flats"

Bolivar Flats Beach
Mark Nesmith
Oil on Oil Primed Linen Panel
5" x 7"
2013

Click here to purchase this painting.

I've always loved going to the beach. Growing up in Beaumont, TX the Gulf Coast was just an hour or so drive. I come from a large family and my father was a school teacher so money was pretty tight. Nearby Crystal Beach and Galveston Island made for reasonably inexpensive family vacations. Throughout high school and college trips to the beach were frequent, and when I got married we honeymooned in a borrowed beach house from my boss. I used to do lots of paintings and pastels of Galveston Beach and Sea Rim State Park, but after moving to Dallas in 1998 going to the beach became a rare and expensive trip. When I moved back to Southeast Texas this past summer I immediately had the beach on my mind. This past week was Spring Break and I had my kids for the week so we made a trip to Galveston and stopped by Bolivar Flats beach on the way home. Bolivar Flats is just this side of the ferry landing at the tip of the peninsula. It's a lovely stretch of beach with some good variety of plants and an interesting coastline, and the sand dunes that are a regular occurrence at low tides make it a favorite feeding ground for a large variety of shorebirds. I enjoyed sunset there so much that my kids and I made a return afternoon visit later in the week. I'm already thinking of a large series of paintings of the area. This 5" x 7" oil painting on an oil primed linen panel is my first study of Bolivar Flats. This is the view along the shore looking back towards Crystal Beach. I loved the reddish greens of the seaweed along the shore and the bright sunlit expanse of beach in the far distance. I'm planning to do several small studies to get my feet wet again while I start planning some larger works.  In the meantime I'm looking forward to the warmer weather and many more trips to the Gulf Coast.

Sunset at Malloy Bridge Road Daily Paintworks Auction

Sunset at Malloy Bridge Road
Mark Nesmith
Oil on Canvas
8" x 10"

Click here to bid on this painting.

Here's the first painting I've listed using Daily Paintworks auction site.  This is a view of the sunset seen just over the tree line on Malloy Bridge Road near Seagoville, Tx.  I painted this at the end of 2011 and have kept it hanging on my wall all this time, but it's time to make some room and find it a good home.  

All along Malloy Bridge Road there are acres of farmland.  This was a plowed field covered in a rich, dark top soil.  It made a wonderful contrast to the brightly lit sky.  Texas sunsets are spectacular, and you can watch them every night and never see exact same thing twice! 

My new art auction gallery page with Daily Paintworks

Several of my online art buddies have been using Daily Paintworks to handle online auctions of their small paintings and foregoing eBay. After checking out the site for the past month I've decided to give it a try too. Daily Paintworks works similar to eBay but is art specific and has a pretty impressive volume of traffic. Wish me luck! I've already linked two previous eBay auctions to the site and this morning set up my first auction using the Daily Paintworks format instead of eBay. Here's the link to my gallery page http://dailypaintworks.com/Artists/mark-nesmith-3253. Please take a moment to check it out and let me know what you think about the site.

Day 3 and 4 Heavy clouds and rain painting

I've started laying in the clouds with lots of dark green and blue hues. Ive only been getting to work on this one a couple of hours each day but I'm making goid progress I think. I'm generally working from the dark to the light right now and just trying to get a layer of color on the whole canvas. Once I've accomplished that, I'll work over the top with glazes, scumbles and some more juicy, thick opaque brushwork. I'm getting pretty excited about this one and hope I can approach the image I have in my mind.