Author: Maryneil Dance

Maryneil Dance is a fourth generation daughter of the Texas Hill Country, which inspires her artwork with a deep connection to place.  Before devoting her time fully to art, she enjoyed an award-winning 25-year career as an interior designer in Austin, Houston and Dallas.  She is credited with creating the unique and cozy design style called “Texas Country French”. After returning to the Hill Country, she devoted her time to capturing the rich beauty of the land and the mystic elegance of its animals in her current chosen medium of pastel.   She is also prolific in watercolor, oil and handmade paper collage.  Her influences, which are evident in the emotional landscapes she creates, include Hill Country artist Gordon Fowler and horse painter John Fawcett whose career started as a equine veterinarian.  However, Maryneil credits her late Aunt Sissy who influenced her. She was  a horsewoman, showing horses and dogs professionally all her life. “I have painted in watercolor all my life and decided to expand my horizons when I moved from the city.  I also love oil painting, enjoying the buttery texture of it, but I have fallen for pastel!  Pastel is so tactile, you can move it around, layer, highlight, and it lends itself to the soft coats of animals.  Pastel colors are brilliant and really enhance the beautiful landscapes and animals that are my subjects.  I am inspired by every painting that I complete.” Now retired, Maryneil has found peace living and painting on her Texas Ranch.  “I feel as God speaks through me in each and every painting I create.  I love bringing out the personality of the animals I portray and feel honored to reproduce this beautiful landscape God has created for us to enjoy.” She and her husband Tom live and work on their ranch in Fredericksburg, Texas, with their dog Tippy, a small herd of Longhorns, two horses, a pair of miniature donkies, and a cat -- all of which inhabit her artwork from time-to-time.

Summer 2014

I know… I am not a great “blogger”. Why do I keep procrastinating and putting off doing it? So here I am putting out the effort to bring you up to date on my art. I have loved being in the RS Hanna Gallery now almost two years. It motivates me to get going and paint! MY latest paintings are on their website, rshannagallery.com.
I have so many interests that my ‘priority list’ gets confused…For instance, I love to garden and spent alot of time making my vegetable garden work. Painting is a big priority too.  Then along came an opportunity to help a friend and a little Islandic Horse find a forever home. He is now part of our family. Macho, came to me because my friend Joanne had rescued him.  He was beaten by cowboys because he couldn’t understand their commands, being from Island and all….I can’t imagine how confused he was especially after I saw what crazy long words are in his language.   She was called as she raises Islandics here and brought him to her place in Kerrville from New Mexico.  Her horses were giving him a hard time and hurting him, he was having alot of trouble everywhere he went!  We had lost our Rio to cancer in May and my mare Riata was very lonely. It was love immediately between them and Macho had found his forever home. Did we all luck out! Come to find out he is the gentlest sweetest boy ever. However, I had to learn to ride English (Islandic) and even the cues are in Islandic…once we got that down he and I took off, me learning his ways and him learning mine and I might add he now understands some cues in English! My granddaughter Grace came and helped him even more. We went on rides together and he decided he really likes trail riding. So as you see the summer has been a busy one. Thank goodness we have had a very cool June and July for Texas.  After a trip to Normandy France and Paris I am in great need of painting…finally have the time and the desire.

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Las Trembleques

What do you do on a icey day? Paint!…. and finally blog after many months…I swear I am so tired of this weather! We Texans are one spoiled bunch and I like it that way! I painted this from pictures I found from my visit to Panama 5 years ago! So many beautiful ladies…the trembleques are the beaded flowers in their hair….I have more but this one came first. Hope you like it…

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Update

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I am so happy that I have beeen accepted into to National shows this month…the Meeker Classic, the National Sheepdog Championship Trial in Meeker Colorado!  They have an art show in conjunction with it through September 8.  Also I have been accepted to the Western Trappings on The Llano Oct. 18-Jan 4 at the Llano County Historical Museum. Bringing Them In 22x28 Pastel My dear friends that travelled with me to Maui in May this year are all showing at the Corridor of Art in Austin, Texas through September 22nd.  We call the show “Kindred Spirits”.  It turns out to be a lovely show.  I have 7 paintings showing there.  SO I have been a busy girl.  I am also showing at the 125th Gillespie County Fair with our Die Kunstler Art group the weekend of August 23-24-25.  Lots going on here.  Trying to stay cool, the temperatures are brutal in Texas this time of year.  Hope you get to see my new works at RS Hanna Gallery in Fredericksburg!  Bye for now….

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Visiting With The Masters

Visiting The Masters

Just got back from New York with my granddaughter Claire.  And after going over the many photos I took zeroed in on this one I took of Claire at the Metropolitan Art Museum.  A definite highlight for me as I got to share my love of art and the fabulous collection they have, with her. I painted this in pastel of her sitting before The Horse Fair by Rosa Bonheur, a huge painting 8feet by 16 feet.  She is listening on the headphones of the story of Rosa dressing up as a man to sneak into the auction and sketch the horses and action.  What a long way we women have come!!  Just watching her absorbed in the wonder of the painting was one of my favorite things we did, hers was probably shopping at Zara and H&M!

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ImageI am so proud that my painting “Snow Blanket” won 2nd In Show at the Austin Pastel Society Show this weekend.  It will be up in the show at 700 Lavaca, at The Corridor of Art, Austin, Texas until May. He is becoming a famous wolf! 

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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAOLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAMarch 1, 2013

Cannot believe it is March already!  We have not had much of a winter here…Very dry and I am concerned for the spring flowers we so enjoy.  I am not counting on them this year.

I have exciting news, two of my paintings have been accepted into The Austin Pastel show.  The reception is on Sunday March 17th at the Corridor of Art, 700 Lavaca Street, austin, Texas 78701.

3-5PM.  Awards will be given at 5PM by Terri Ford PSA,the judge of the show.  The above two pictures are in the show, Snow Blanket and Winter’s Light.

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