The art of Debra Blore
"And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud
was more painful than the risk it took to blossom"
Anaïs Nin


"Mother and Child in Repose"     oil on linen, 12x16"

When my babies were tiny, they would fall asleep on my lap, cradled between my thighs.  After being up in the night, I would join them in naps at dawn.  While driving through the White Mountains, I was reminded of that peaceful time, so long ago.



"Feminine Mist"    oil on linen, 16x20"

One of my favorite, early morning scenes is fog and mist clearing, slowly revealing forms less obvious in clear skies.  This painting uses the gentle shapes of feminine breasts, a hip, knee, arm and more in the serene landscape.



"Mount Leg"  oil on canvas 11x16"

I chose to use the juxtaposition of a tense, masculine leg with a relaxed, feminine shape to form the far ridge.  The tension between the two forms is meant as a visual metaphor.




"Study for Legs at Dawn"   oil on panel, 12x16"


The vivid use of color in the skies were contrasted with soft forms for this landscape.



"Study for Peaceful Dawn"     oil on canvas, 16x20"

Oddly enough, I spotted this fabulous dawn on a parking lot at a Walmart.  By replacing the pickup trucks and RV's with a child napping in the arms of a parent, the scene takes on a peacefulness.




"Reclining Trees"    oil on linen, 11x14"

This scene is painted exactly as it lies, just above Noone Falls in Peterborough, NH.  The midground trees and those of the background appear to be bodies, lumpy bodies, lying in repose.




"Mother Earth Awakens"    oil on canvas, 16x20"

This is perhaps the most obvious painting of the series, just as Mother Earth awakening in springtime is obvious.  While many people think of spring colors as soft, they are often vivid .  Near the top of her head, the snow melts on ski runs as the trees reflect the light of the brilliant dawn.  Further down the mountain, the colors of spring foliage are nearly as brilliant as autumn's.  To get the softness of Mother's face in granite, I used a 78-year-old model.







"Legs at Dawn"   oil on canvas, 60x40"

Between the study and the completed version of "Legs," I changed the shapes of the clouds to repeat the shape of the legs and added more rock formation in the foreground to highlight the softness of the female shapes in the mid-ground.







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"Armed Ridges"    oil on panel, 12x16"

Amid the soft hues of the sky and background, the mid-ground ridges form a flexed, masculine arm, ready for a fight.



"Mountain of Strength"    oil on panel, 20x24"

The top of Mt. Monadnock is littered with giant, granite boulders, hiking trails and mountain foliage.  To me, the boulders form strong bodies, in this case a masculine, lower body.  The forming thunderhead above makes up a powerful upper body to match.



"Peaceful Dawn Nap"    oil on canvas, 60x40"

Between the study and the final painting, I added more warm tones to the sky and cooled the distant ridges, giving the painting greater depth.



"Cloudy Embrace"   oil on panel, 12x16"

I often go to the ocean to find peace and feel the power of nature.  These clouds appear to have done the same.




"Sensual New Hampshire"     oil on panel, 16x20"  

This surreal landscape might give the viewer a sense of the way the rolling hills and natural shapes of nature look to me as I drive or hike through  both New Hampshire.  While each of these natural shapes were faithfully drawn from landscape around the state and can be melded into many forms, I'm particularly fond of this configuration.

This painting was selected to hang in the Congressional Office of Congressman Paul Hodes.


"Being one with nature, the sage is in accord with the Tao."
Lao Tzu