By Emily Miller
REXBURG — In the Upper Valley, the name Parson is synonymous with artists. This weekend, the public is invited to view some of the Parson family’s artwork and meet the artists in person as siblings Loraine Parson Lindstrom and Nolan Parson debut a joint exhibit at November’s Art Stroll in Rexburg.
It all started with Oliver Parson, his children say. Oliver grew up in a family of “homeless farmers,” according to his daughter Loraine.
His first experience creating art, she says, happened when he was about 12 years old when he discovered an old can of house paint. He pried it open, and with a makeshift paintbrush made from a twig, he started painting on a piece of cardboard. He hadn’t mixed the paint so as he worked through the can, the colors changed to different shades of blues and greens, and he painted his first landscape.
“What a wonderful experience that was for him,” Loraine says. She says it sparked a creative passion in Oliver, who wanted nothing more than to become an artist. Soon, he saw an ad in a magazine offering a book that would teach him to be an artist for $10.
“He told his mother that he wanted it more than anything else,” Loraine says. “She made candy for him to sell until he made $10 and he sent it in.”
When the book arrived, the words on the cover foretold the boy’s future: “Oliver Parson, Future Artist.”
Oliver grew to be a respected and prolific artist. He taught at Ricks College in Rexburg (now Brigham Young University-Idaho) for 25 years, specializing in landscape, sculpture, portrait and still life.
“We lived art,” Nolan Parson says of growing up as Oliver’s child. Nolan remembers that traveling as a family usually involved many stops along the side of the road to paint or sketch. “Everything we did revolved around art,” he says.
“You didn’t go anywhere without seeing paintings, taking paintings, sleeping on paintings,” Loraine says with a laugh.
Oliver ran summer art camps each year, giving his children even more opportunities to grow in their own abilities. Loraine and Nolan say their mother, Myra, was a school teacher and, while she wasn’t as serious about art as Oliver, she was also quite artistic.
Talent and love for art trickled down through the generations of the Parson family. Nolan says all nine of the children were artistic, and five of them earned art degrees in college.
“Our youngest brother was the black sheep,” Nolan says in jest. “He ran away and became an engineer. We don’t like to talk about it.”
Although Oliver and Myra didn’t expect all of their children to become professional artists, Oliver did ask them each to take at least one art class during their first semester of college, to try it on for size. Nolan says his brother Del Parson, well known for his depictions of Jesus Christ, didn’t intend to become a professional artist.
“Del was dead-set against being a painter,” Nolan says. “He wanted to be a rodeo star.”
But, Loraine says, “He discovered that he’d rather paint than get bucked off a horse.”
Many of the next generation, Oliver’s grandchildren, have also pursued careers in different types of art, including photography, landscape design, theater, graphic design, fine art and cinematography.
After putting her own art career on hold to raise children, Loraine feels she’s finally able to focus on her artistic pursuits in earnest. She recalls, as a teenager, going to her father’s early-morning art classes that he taught for Ricks College and practicing her drawing for an hour before walking to school.
“I did that for a couple years, at least,” she says. “I loved doing that, so it was kind of a natural segue when I did go to Ricks to be an art major and graduated with my associate’s there, and I was able to do a study abroad in Europe for six months, studying art history, which I really have a love for.”
After a semester at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, Loraine served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. After her mission, she got married and started a family, and later earned a bachelor’s degree from California State University, Fullerton in 1999.
“I began slowly to paint again when I was doing my degree,” she says. “I often feel like that world actually passed me by. I kind of gave it up for a long time. I feel like I’ve just barely started to be able to paint again, and I love it. And I’m now in a position where I can actually spend some time more on it and I’ve been a little bit successful in selling and showing.”
Loraine says in her art, she’s inspired most by the natural world around her, especially the changing light and color in the sky as the day passes.
“Light and color, light and shadow, it’s always so intriguing to me,” Loraine says. “I love, love, love, love coming back to Idaho. I came back to Idaho after 40 years in California. Every single day I’m in a watercolor painting. I live out on a farm and, just … this big sky and the constant color changes … It’s never the same scene, day to day, hour to hour. That’s so inspiring.”
Like his brother Del, Nolan also didn’t plan to become a professional artist, but as he grew up he realized that he could combine his main interests by studying art.
“By the time I graduated from high school, I had a really deep love of history and theater, as well as art,” Nolan says. “Eventually, I decided on art. I figured in art I could combine all three.”
For instance, he says he’s able to use his theater directing experience and fun costumes when working with models for a painting. It’s all part of telling a story, which he says is the most inspiring part for him.
“I love telling stories,” he says. “I just absolutely love the beauty this world has to offer, whether it’s landscape, a person or the beauty and variety of the human condition. For the most part, I look for the positive and there are a lot of beautiful things out there if that’s what you want to focus on, which I do.”
Nolan earned an associate of fine arts degree from Ricks College and a bachelor of fine arts degree from Boise State University, after which he came back to Rexburg and took classes from his brother Leon Parson at Ricks College.
Nolan’s professional career included being a commercial art director, and he was in charge of “environmental graphics” at Ricks College for years, which included designing public relations posters, billboards and advertisements. He then spent 15 years as an interior design faculty member, teaching visual design at BYU-Idaho. He wrapped up his teaching career teaching art at the university for six years before retiring in 2020.
In retirement, Nolan says he has enjoyed having more time to improve his own skills. He has had success being accepted into local and national art shows and was most recently accepted into the Oil Painters of America national show and in the organization’s regional western show.
The Parson siblings will be joined at Art Stroll by vocalist Nefi Varela, who will perform traditional Mexican music on the Romance stage at 5:30 and 6:30 p.m. Varela, 21, was born and raised in Mexico and has been performing with folk dance and music groups since the age of 14.
“I have always believed that music has been an excellent way to transmit my emotions, feelings and identity as Mexican,” Varela says. “I love mariachi music because it connects me with my culture and makes me feel alive.”
November’s Art Stroll will be held on Friday, Nov. 3 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Romance Theater, 2 East Main Street in Rexburg.
Art Stroll is a free monthly event that takes place on the first Friday of every month from 5 to 8 p.m., featuring visual and performing artists and free hands-on art activities. This month’s Art Stroll will also feature the work of renowned artist Mary Lou Romney at Rexburg City Hall. Some of Romney’s children will attend Art Stroll to present her work, which will be on display for the entire month of November. Find more information and schedules at rexburgarts.org.
