"RED TIDE" 11057, daily painter mixed media abstract waterscape © Carol Nelson Fine Art

"RED TIDE"

This is the demo piece I started at my workshop in the mountains.
There are several textural elements including red aluminum, sand, crushed shells, and textured acrylic medium.

This photo was taken before the application of epoxy resin, which will increase the depth and intensity of the colors.

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

Workshop in the Mountains

It was a challenge to get up to Wrenn Boulton's home/studio on Squaw Mountain.  The last mile and a half was a dirt road with 360 degree switchbacks.  At 10,500 feet elevation, it could leave you breathless just going up and down stairs.

But the view was unbelievable in any direction. From snow-capped peaks on the continental divide to far-off Denver and beyond - Kansas, perhaps - it was a feast for the eyes. When I left my home near Denver to drive up there, it was 93 degrees.  One hour and 45 minutes later, and about double the altitude, it was a refreshing 63 degrees.

We had a wonderful group of ladies that was excited to learn some new mixed media techniques. They came from as far away as Vancouver, B.C., and New Zealand. My butane torch for combusting foils pooped out. Fortunately, Wrenn had a propane torch and saved the day.  She was outside blasting the foils and metals for some spectacular effects.  Every time a group was outside torching, we could hear their OOOHs and AWWWHs.

Another thing I managed to leave at home was my camera, so the above image was taken with my cell phone.  I took individual shots of student's paintings, but they are all blurry because my cell phone camera doesn't do close up shots.  Could be the operator.

Wrenn and I decided to do it again next July, complete with the gourmet lunches and the wine critiques, only instead of 2 days, make it a 3 day version of the workshop.  None of us wanted to leave our new friends or that gorgeous spot.

For more photos and write ups of the workshop, please see:
http://maryarnesonfineart.blogspot.com/2011/07/high-above-denver.html
and
http://marilynhantlarussell.blogspot.com/2011/07/up-up-and-away.html

"FIFTEEN POPPIES" 11055 daily painter floral poppy garden still life © Carol Nelson Fine Art

"FIFTEEN POPPIES"

This painting took two years to complete!  I painted it in 2009, but did not like it - see original version below.  It hung in my studio all this time.

I'm so glad Nancy Johnson Standlee talked on her blog about giving some of her paintings a face lift.  That's just what this painting needed - it just took me two years to figure out what to do!

It was so easy to fix.  The darkness of the purple background was the problem.  The creamy yellow background was just the thing to bring light into this painting.  I left a little purple peaking out around the edges of the flowers.

And, YES, there ARE 15 poppies in this painting!  Some of them are only visible on the sides.  For more information, please click here to go to my website.

"SOUTHWEST SPIRIT" 11054 daily painter textured southwest abstract landscape © Carol Nelson Fine Art

"SOUTHWEST SPIRIT"

My friend and fellow artist Nancy Standlee posted a beautiful painting on her blog the other day that she had given a face lift.  I seem to be in a bit of a creativity slump lately, so what better time than to try to give a face lift to one of my unsuccessful paintings.

Above is the original version. You can see that I didn't mess much with the composition, but I pumped up the color.  I got rid of that black band across the top.  As a matter of fact, there is no black in the new version - just some deep purples and browns.  The black was too harsh.
I also added some purple and turquoise.  The result of this face lift is a genuine painted lady!  Looks really good in that floater frame.  For more information, please click here to see my website.

"MESABI" 11053 daily painter mixed media abstract © Carol Nelson Fine Art

"MESABI"

This painting is named after the Mesabi Range in northern Minnesota, where I grew up.  The area has a history of mining iron ore in large open pit mines.

The top part of the painting is inspired by this mining process with it's tiered contours. The above image is an old post card showing a large mine.  I'm sure the environmental damage was not even considered decades ago.

Look at the colors of this old photo.  The red oxide of the iron ore colors the earth.  Old mines often filled with water creating even new lakes in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.  I tried to incorporate this color palette in the painting.

Of course, you don't have to know any of this to enjoy the painting with it's luminous colors and textures.
For more information, please click here to go to my website.

"OVER THE RIVER" 11052 daily painter mixed media landscape © Carol Nelson Fine Art

"OVER THE RIVER"

This little 6x6 painting suggests some kind of woodsy forest.  It's a study of various textures created with papers.  The tree on the far left is made with a homemade paper using tissue and tea leaves - makes fabulous trunks.
The next tree is some mylar wrapping paper and is very sparkly - too bad the sparkles don't show on the photo.  If you look very carefully, you can see star patterns.
The fourth tree from the left is some corrugated paper I had.  It was an atrocious yellow color that I had to tone down a lot.
For more information, please click here to go to my website.

"ELEMENTAL GREEN" 11051 daily painter mixed media textured abstract © Carol Nelson Fine Art

"ELEMENTAL GREEN"

I'm continuing to work on a series of small abstracts for an upcoming show.  This size sells well both on the internet and at art shows. 
I textured this one with modeling compound and tissue paper.  The red/green color scheme is always a favorite of mine.  For more information, please click here to see my website

I'm Back!

I just got back from a week up in Breckenridge, CO.  Above is the view of the ski area from our condo.  Still lots of snow on the higher peaks.

Here I am on a bridge over a roaring stream.  Runoff is very high right now.

This is a trail on one of the hikes we took.  I live at 6000 feet elevation, but at 10,000 feet elevation, I was huffing and puffing as I hiked up this trail.

Look at those gorgeous stands of aspens.

It took an hour of hiking (uphill!) to get this shot of Dillon Reservoir and distant peaks, but the view was worth the effort.

I'm diving back into my painting now!