Every once in awhile, Nancy Boren comes across two watercolor paintings she did of the Grand Canyon, when she was about 12. “They were, without doubt, the worst paintings ever created,” she says. “I think I’ve made some progress since then.”

That’s an understatement for this talented artist, who describes those early paintings as resembling “a big bunch of purple hamburger meat,” due in part to the fact that, at that age, she was unable to view the scene as a whole. She’s come a long way since then, earning prestigious awards for her paintings, while also finding other outlets for her creativity.

Boren comes by some of her talent naturally. Her father, James Boren, who passed away in 1990, was an award-winning artist and one of the first members of the prestigious Cowboy Artists of America.

Nancy Boren

Hoofbeats at Twilight
Oil
36″x36″
“Big, dramatic sunset skies are such a gift from the universe, a chance to live in the moment and breathe the wild air, as Ralph Waldo Emerson would say. I witnessed this one on my drive home from speaking to an art group, and knew I had to paint it.”

Nancy Boren

Old Timer
Oil
16″x12″
“The rim light defined this gentleman so beautifully, as he stood against a log cabin at the Dallas Heritage Village near downtown Big D. I used a toned canvas and a Zorn palette of colors.”