Robert Nelson Art

Canadian Rockies Storm

2011-02-11T04:18:00.001-08:00

The inspiration photo...taken in Banff N.P. through the car window at 50 MPH by Judy. (She doesn't like this photo and nearly deleted it.)

The result.. 12 x 16 oil on canvas..completed Feb. 9.

Deer Valley Path

2011-01-02T14:19:00.000-08:00

Here is the photo that inspired it... taken by Teisha at Deer Valley near Park City, Utah. This is one of my very first paintings done in early 2007...12 x 16. Original is not for sale. High quality Giclees are available for $100 unframed.

Canadian Fuchsias

2010-12-24T04:17:00.000-08:00

Here is one of the latest "quick" impressions. Canadian Fuchsias...it is 8 x 10 oil on canvas and NOT for sale.

Here is the photo by Judy that inspired it. These fuchsias were in a hanging basket at a lodge at Emerald Lake in Yoho NP, British Columbia. Judy was intrigued by the intense colors and interesting shapes.

Last Chance Desert

2010-07-30T08:17:00.000-07:00

Here is the photo by Judy, taken on our Goblin Valley trip. The view is of the "Last Chance Desert" looking from the Castle Valley view area from I-70. Capitol Reef is in the far distance.Here is my interpretation of it. Oil on canvas. 16 x 20. Original for sale at $450, framed. No giclees are planned.

Lily & Petunias

2010-07-30T08:13:00.000-07:00

this photo taken by Judy in our yard...inspired this quick study done in the technique I recently learned.

8 x 10 on canvas board not for sale at this time.

Workshop Learning

2010-07-08T17:15:00.000-07:00

In June, I had the opportunity to receive portraiture training from Carolyn Anderson at a workshop in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. It was intense. I was very discouraged after the first day, and considered coming home. Of the 24 artists in attendance, I had the fewest skills, by far.
This first painting is done from a live model (as all were, except the one of the two cousins).
Here, she looks dead. She looks flat and colorless. Real faces are neither. The risk or difficulty of painting a portrait is, we all know what faces look like. We think. I found out I didn't. I had no idea a face had so much color in it, for example. This portrait was embarrassing to me.

So, on day two, I tried again. I failed, miserably. I scraped off the paint, set this one aside, and tried again.

And this portrait came of the second attempt. This is much better than the first portrait of the young lady, I think.

Day three. After another demo, I tried this young girl. She is twelve, but had the patience to sit for three hours for us (with breaks). There are things about this one that show additional progress on my part such as the absence of hard edges. Now I figured I didn't have to go home, but was learning.

Painting from a photo instead of a model. The temptation is to reproduce the photo. That will not be a portrait, but simply a reproduction. The two cousins here are two of my grandaughters. I focused on not trying to copy the photo, but on trying to get the feeling of love across these two girls have for each other, the warmth of the day, and the summer sunlight. I like this one.

Last day. The model is a young lady in her early twenties. Try as I could, I could not get the painting to look very feminine to me, though in real life she was beautifully feminine. The portrait, however, looks masculine to me. Interestingly, all the artists using this model had portraits looking more or less masculine, too. She did seem to be a strong young lady, neither slender or weak in appearance. I am not sure what happened in my mind with this one. Or rather what happened between my eyes, my brain, and my hands.

With this small taste of portraiture, I have to conclude I like it afterall. But I have much to learn. Much to learn. Anyone want to volunteer to model?

Mountain Road Cliff

2010-06-26T07:27:00.000-07:00

This photo was taken by Judy on a misty morning looking toward the cliffs of lower Lewis Peak...right from our front porch. I thought it would make a great painting.This is the first blocking...took about 1 1/2 hours.
More details added...

Not quite finished...but getting there. The original is 24 x 36 on masonite prepared with gesso and marble dust. Price on the original will be around $3,000. No plans are made for giclee unless there is an interest. Those full size prints would be about $300.

North Rim Rain, Grand Canyon, Imperial Point

2010-03-02T17:00:00.000-08:00

is photograph was taken by Judy on our trip to the Grand Canyon in May. This is from the NorthRim, looking down and across the canyon during a foggy, rainy morning.

This is the painting after the first 2 hours of roughing in the shadows and shapes in grey tones. It is 24" X 36" on a masonite board prepared with gesso and marble dust.

This is after about 6 weeks working on it a few hours a week.

Finally, in December, 2009, the completed painting...

The original is priced for sale at $5,000. Fine quality full size 24 x 36 giclee prints may be purchased for $300. They are limited edition of 25.

Completed Jan. 2010. It's interesting how the coloring changes with different photos.

Valley Fog

2009-06-15T08:20:00.000-07:00

The painting is 16" X 20" in oil on canvas. It is loosely based on an old Kodak advertising photo that appears to be of the Smoky Mountain country in the Appalachians. I changed the far horizon to give it more of a southwestern look. The photo above shows the first washes laid in.

Mid-ground details are added and forms for the foreground shapes are beginning.

Further mid-ground details were added and colors added to the fog in the valleys.

Foreground details added, trees, plants, and fog in front of the trees along the bottom of the painting. These details were not picked up in this photograph, but are visible to the natural eye. The sky was reworked to show more cloud detail.
For sale for $495, framed. (the framed print is pictured at the top of this post.) No prints will be made of this painting.

Flower Exercises

2008-12-22T14:40:00.001-08:00

This won a prize in the Ogden Palette Club Show....
These four paintings were done as studies to learn some new techniques I wanted to try. Each was painted from a photograph taken by a family member.

Wild Rose, 6" x 8" on canvas board

Yellow Lily with Bachelor Buttons 6" x 8" on canvas board (SOLD)

Desert Primrose, 6" x 8" on canvas...

Snapdragons Over Purple Petunias, 6" X 8" oil on canvas

Creation of "Rocky Canyon"--formerly "Middle Earth"

2008-11-12T06:38:00.000-08:00

Begin with a masonite board painted with gesso and powdered marble. Block in the shapes in sepia tones. Some elements of this painting such as the flat rock on the lower left corner were taken from a painting by George Hetzel and then modified.November 14, 2007, adding the mountains and distant trees.
Jan. 12th detail--
Jan. 12, 2008
Jan. 24, 2008
Feb. 3, 2008
Feb. 25, 2008

Detail of rock, March 31st
Nearly finished, July 4th

The finished Giclee' on canvas at full size 24" x 36" is $300 unframed. Inquire about availability of frames. The original is priced at $3,000. At a recent art show, people could generally not distinguish the original from the prints! Now beautiful art is made affordable.

Coyote Canyon

2008-11-12T03:51:00.000-08:00

Near the Escalante River, Lake Powell.

Two sizes of giclee are available, with or without frames. The unframed Giclee' on canvas 24" x 36" is $270. Inquire about other sizes and frames.

Right Fork of the Virgin

2008-10-03T15:20:00.001-07:00

This is an original oil painting on canvas board. The subject matter was taken from a photo of the Right Fork of the Virgin River in Zion National Park. It is impressionistic, rather than realistic. The background "white throne" is added to identify it as Zionistic. Painting is 16" x 11 1/2" and has been sold. No giclees were made.