"ZIPPO" 11013, daily painter challenge © Carol Nelson Fine Art

"ZIPPO"

You're probably wondering "What the ____?"  This is a very close up view of a zippo lighter - you remember the old shiny metal lighters that you had to flip open the lid.  My brother had one of these.


This is my version of the Daily Paintworks Challenge.  A photo is posted on their site and any artist can take a crack at it.

Several artists have already faithfully reproduced the photo.  I thought it would be fun to crop it and turn it blue. I enjoyed painting the details of the top of the lighter.  The bottom part reminded me of a Mark Rothko abstract.

For purchase information, click here to go to my website.

"LEAF SERIES 4" daily painter aspen leaf collage © Carol Nelson Fine Art

"LEAF SERIES 4"

There are 12 paintings in this leaf series.  Somehow I listed this #4 in the series as sold, but when I went to pick up work at a gallery, there it was - still available. Gasp!  I never claimed to be a great accountant.

It is painted on a 0.5 inch thick panel mounted to stand out from the wall.  The leaves are heavy water color paper that I curled on the edges to look like real leaves.  The whole thing has a thick layer of crystal clear epoxy resin.

For purchase information, click here to go to my website.

"HACIENDA COLLECTION" 11012, mixed media abstract collage © Carol Nelson Fine Art

"HACIENDA COLLECTION"

I gave my acrylics class an assignment to complete two collages in the next two weeks using some of the materials and techniques we've been studying in class.

This is one of my efforts to show them the use of various materials.  It has copper, aluminum, wire, tacks, grass paper, patterned felt, leather and combusted metal foils.  I love combinations of shiny-dull, rough-smooth, hard-soft, etc.

For more information about this painting, click here to go to my website.

"RED CLIFF" 11011, daily painter aluminum abstract © Carol Nelson Fine Art

"RED CLIFF"

I couldn't photograph this painting accurately because of the aluminum substrate.  I painted it using transparent glazes of acrylic paint, resulting in amazing depth of color.
The photograph does not show how the light dances around on the surface.

This painting is going to be my part of a dual entry in a show called "Duets."  My partner in this project is Colorado photographer Ron Beller.  This is the photograph I worked with.

As you can see, I selected only a small portion of Ron's beautiful photo for my painting.  I thought my painting would turn out more abstracted than it did.  It's actually a pretty fair representation of the rocks.

For more information on this painting, please click here to go to my website.

"BLUE ARRANGEMENT" 11010, daily painter still life floral © Carol Nelson Fine Art

"BLUE ARRANGEMENT"

 More fun playing with paint.  This one is a variation on the painting below - "BE MINE."
Click here to see it on my website.

Photofunia is at it again.  They have a lot of cool effects you can use on any photo.

"BE MINE" 11009, daily painter original oil flowers still life ©Carol Nelson Fine Art

"BE MINE"

My favorite part of this little gem is the vase.  It looks SO RED.
Once again, I was having fun pushing the delicious, juicy oil paint around - with one of my new brushes.

Oh, the ecstasy of it all.

For purchase information, please click here to go to my website.

"KITCHEN SCENE" 11008 daily painter still life © Carol Nelson Fine Art

It felt so good to do this painting.  I have not done an oil painting yet this year, except for that manikin study a couple days ago.

Although I love acrylics, with all the fabulous mediums and effects you can achieve, there is no substitute for the luscious "paintability" of oils.  It's such fun to push the paint around.

Here we have two of my big black coffee mugs sitting on the counter with an apple and an orange - it was kind of an oval looking orange, but an orange none the less.  The warm tones and reflections inspired me.

Oh God, I'm flip flopping again.  Abstraction back to realism. Forgive me, dear readers, if you tuned in expecting to see an abstract composition.  There is one on the easel, however.  

As I was doing this painting, I was cursing my brushes.  I am the world's foremost abuser of brushes.  My acrylic brushes sit in water for weeks. As luck would have it, there is an art supply/framing store near me that is going out of business - 70% off art supplies.  I BOUGHT 26 BRUSHES!  WOO HOO. Back in business.

For purchase information on this 6x6 painting, click here to go to my website.

 This is a black and white sketch that I created with Photofunia.  It is so cool whaat you can do with their software.

"TINY DANCER" 11007, daily painter challenge entry © Carol Nelson Fine Art

The Daily Paintworks challenge this week is to paint an object multiple times.  The hard part is that each version cannot take longer than 10 minutes.

I must have my head examined to have chosen to paint my manikin for the challenge.  Believe it or not, I've never tried to paint it before! The left most figure is my first go at it.  I think I actually got a little more confident with it by the 4th time.

My favorite is the second pose where the left leg comes toward you.  If you are interested in purchasing this 11x14 painting for $75, just email me.

"PATCHWORK" daily painter textured poppy floral © Carol Nelson Fine Art

It seems like some of my favorite paintings are slow to sell, and some that I don't think are my best work, fly out of here. I will never figure out the vagaries of the market.

I created this painting over a year ago and I really love it.  It went to one outdoor show, and then to a gallery, where it just sat.  I saw where it was hung in the gallery, and it was a primo spot.

Strong design, lots of different textures, vibrant colors, bits of shiny metal leaf - what's not to like?  It's 36x24 inches, so I'm not GIVING it away.  BLAME THE ECONOMY!  That's always a good excuse. 

One benefit of not selling this piece is that it goes beautifully in my house.  At least I get to enjoy it now. For more information, please click here to go to my website.

"THE FOUR PEPS" 11006 daily painter still life peppers © Carol Nelson Fine Art

"THE FOUR PEPS"

This is a demo I did for my acrylics class on Monday.  I think you can guess what color the under painting is.

Normally, I would probably paint a still life in oil.  I need the extra working time that oils have.  Since this is an acrylics class, I didn't think I should use oils.  LOL

I know you can use "retarders" to slow down the dry time for acrylics, but I have never tried them.  If something needs that much working time, I'll just use oils.

For purchase information, please click here to see my website.