"AUTUMN PALETTE" 12089, acrylic faux batik tree landscape © Carol Nelson Fine Art

Autumn Palette

This is a second demo I did for my class on faux batik.  (See previous post for explanation of the process.)  The random blotches, spots, and lines are a result of the color applied after the wax layer has been cracked.

The random way this occurs is what is fascinating to me.  For more information, click here to see my website.

"GEMSTONE 10" mixed media abstract landscape © Carol Nelson Fine Art

Gemstone 10

Wow, here is my 10th gemstone painting.  I just started teaching a 5 week class in Denver on mixed media.  This was one of our first projects.

These effortless abstracts are a good introduction to acrylics and abstract composition.  The class always enjoys doing them and most students are successful right away.

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

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My workshop in Dallas at the Artist's Showplace was a lot of fun.  What a great group of enthusiastic artists I had!  I introduced them to all kinds of mixed media techniques and materials.

Below are just a FEW of the interesting works they created.  To see more, please click here to go to the album on my Facebook page.

"SPRING MIX", 12042, acrylic floral contemporary painting © Carol Nelson Fine Art

Spring Mix

detail view with silver threads

This is another demo of the faux batik method I showed my Park Hill class last week.  I just love that Thai Metallic Thread Unryu paper.  The threads are very thin, so you don't notice them until you move by the painting and you see glints of light.

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

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Last Sunday was the big Gala for the Painted Violin benefiting the Denver Young Artists Orchestra.  I am very happy to report that the violin I painted sold for $1000 !

I had hoped it would go up for auction, but someone bought it for full asking price ahead of time - a smart move because Who knows how much they would have gotten for it if auctioned.

"Autumn Song" painted violin

It was a fantastic fundraiser, and I'm happy to have been a 

part of it.

"MIDAS TOUCH" 12003, metallic mixed media geologic abstract © Carol Nelson Fine Art

Midas Touch

 

I love everything about this painting.  If you've been following my work at all, you know how fond I am of this color palette.  It has other things I love too such as metal leaf and texture.

In this extreme close up, you can see the blue and turquoise notes that are not very evident in the above photos.  I just LOVE adding those little complimentary touches toward the end of a painting.

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

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WORKSHOP ANNOUNCEMENTS:  I have posted several workshops I will be conducting in the coming months on my website.  Take a look at what's coming up - you might find the perfect workshop to jump start your creativity.

Bird Series, Chickadee - daily painting © Carol Nelson Fine Art

This little fluff of feathers is a chickadee. They live around my house all year long, even in the coldest winter months. Everything they do is fast. They dart in to the feeder to take one seed, then fly away with it to eat it. Their favorite food from my feeder is sunflower seeds.
I'm sure the name comes from their call which kind of sounds like they're saying "chick - a - dee - dee - dee".

Painted on a cradled 4x4 Baroque Artist panel, click here to purchase.

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I've been working on the curriculum for a 10 week class I will be teaching in the fall for a Denver art group - the Park Hill Art Club. They want me to teach a class in acrylics. Once I started jotting down different topics to cover, I easily filled the page.
Acrylic paints lend themselves so well to abstract compositions. With all the different mediums, collage materials, textures, and techniques, we could go on for a long time.

Seven Poppies, 10105. textured floral acrylic © Carol Nelson Fine Art

This 24x24 acrylic has tons of acrylic medium used to add texture to the painting. I guess it's because I see the poppies coming up in my neighbor's yard that I'm returning to my favorite floral subject. If it looks like a stained glass window, that's because I used to have a stained glass business many years ago and I thought I would emphasize that effect.
For purchase information, please see my website.

Kung Pao, 9041 acrylic abstract

This is a rework of a piece I did about 6-8 months ago. It's been sitting around my studio glaring at me that long. I never put the finishing varnish on it - that's tells me that, subconsciously, I thought it needed something else.
The top picture is the old version-very muted palette and the main feature I was interested in was the texture contrast between the black micaceous iron oxide near the top and the white squiggle made of clear tar gel.
I took it out of the frame and just started adding color. With the original as an underpainting, there are layers of rich color notes that give it such depth. I just can't stop looking at it now. Of course, it was difficult to photograph with all the layers of metallic color, but this is a fairly accurate version. Do you think this is an improvement?

Metals and acrylics workshop

I gave my metals and acrylics workshop today to an enthusiastic, talented group. I covered supports, various metals and metal substitutes, methods of attatchment, use of Tyvek, composition, collage materials, texture, methods of presentation, and sources of art materials other than an art supply store, e.g. Home Depot, scrapbooking store, Michaels, etc.
We had a grand time and many participants came away with some very clever, attractive creations.
I hope to now have time to really kick in the painting - after all, I AM retired.
REVISION: I HATE it when I do this. I don't notice flaws in this piece until I saw it on my own blog!!!! DUH. I noticed that this abstract, which has a strong geometric element, was not EVEN.
The horizontal black stripe was going across at a slight angle, instead of 90 degrees like I intended. What to do? The glue had set, and I couldn't reposition anything without totally destroying it. Fool the eye was the only option - thus the angled lines in the upper section and on the metal section in the middle below the tacks. I also painted the sienna corrigated paper black so it blended the error. Now it works. Only a ruler reveals the error, and I'm not tellin'.
For purchase information, please see my website.

Stone Weave 1&2, abstract diptych

OK, I finished the companion piece for Stone Weave. The two of them together make a bold statement on the wall, especially since they're 2.5 inches deep. I've shown a few different configurations here, but they can be displayed any way that suits the buyer.

They look good as a pair, but one will stand on it's own very well, so I will sell them individually.

For purchase infomation, please see my website:

http://data.fineartstudioonline.com/dataviewer.asp?keyvalue=3851&subkeyvalue=209998&page=WorksDetail

Stone Weave, 04608, acrylic abstract

Readers of this blog know that I'm a big fan of texture. This painting is one of a pair painted on 8x8x2.5 inch deep Signature canvas. My goal was to make this look like stone. The upper portion of the painting was textured by putting loosely woven burlap on the canvas, applying the flexible modeling paste with a palette knife, then carefully lifting the burlap off.

What appears as gold in the photo is actually metallic gold paint so there is a sheen to it. I love working with modeling paste to create interesting textures.

SPRING ETERNAL II, 03708, 24x48 red tulip painting

I TOLD you I love painting this red/purple combination. LOL. Actually, I've had enough of it for now. I enjoyed painting that little version of this bouquet so much (see earlier post from April 20th), that I decided to try it on a grand scale.

For purchase information, please see my website: http://carolnelsonfineart.com/works/188996

SYNERGY, 03608, acrylic abstract triptych

Here's another painting on multiple canvases. The three canvases work synergistically (see title) to create the whole. Each canvas measures 8x24x1.5. As usual, I have a lot of texture going on in this painting. There are red and gold metallic elements that don't photograph very well. The painting looks much better in person.

For purchase information, please see my website:

http://data.fineartstudioonline.com/dataviewer.asp?keyvalue=3851&subkeyvalue=188396&page=WorksDetail SOLD

KUNG PAO, 03408, acrylic abstract painting

A favorite of mine in a Chinese restaurant is something with kung pao in the name. I love hot and spicy szechuan cuisine. That was the inspiration for this multilayered textured abstract.

I used gloss medium & varnish (by Liquitex) for the squiggle shape. This product can be used as a finishing varnish on acrylic paintings or as an isolation coat. What is an isolation coat, you ask? An isolation coat usually goes on a finished painting before the final varnish is applied, the idea being that conservators can remove varnish down to the isolation coat and the underlying paint layers would be protected. In the way I used it here, it is like a transparent window to the surface on which you apply it, the white panel I started with.

I also used micaceous iron oxide (by Golden) for the dark grey areas. MIO is actually used as a ground for pastels, but I like its visual characteristics - it is matte, yet has little sparkles - for my acrylic abstracts. Click on the painting for a close up view.

For purchase information, please see my website: http://carolnelsonfineart.com/works/185927

POPPY TRIPTYCH, 03308, acrylic floral painting on 3 canvases

I like experimenting with multiple canvases. I've done many diptych, triptych, and even quadtych paintings. This is the same floral reference photo I used for Poppy Quadtych posted a couple weeks ago.

If you look carefully, each flower is outlined in yellow-gold. I left a white boarder around each flower, then the final step was to paint the boarder with quinacridone gold acrylic paint (Golden brand.) I love that tube of q. gold. It'l like sunshine in a tube. It's so transparent, it only shows on the white areas.

SOLD

CITY RHYTHM 1, 03108, acrylic abstract cityscape

There's a lot going on in this painting. Acrylic modeling paste was pressed with a grid pattern. The upper right section has micaceous iron oxide added for texture. Multiple layers of acrylic paints were applied for added depth and richness.

The grid pattern reminded me of the street layout in downtown Denver. One quadrant is at a 45 degree angle, making getting anywhere a challenge. At least you always know which direction is West because you can see the mountains.

For purchase information, please see my website at:

http://data.fineartstudioonline.com/dataviewer.asp?keyvalue=3851&subkeyvalue=184448&page=WorksDetail

Poppy Garden 3, acrylic triptych on panel, 24x36

The story behind the image. Poppies are my favorite flowers. Their beauty is fleeting. In Colorado, one hail storm can eliminate them until next year.

This painting is acrylic on gessoboard panels with heavy application of medium for a highly textured effect. The flowers seem to leap off the surface.

INTERNET SPECIAL: DURING THE MONTH OF MARCH, 2008, THIS PAINTING WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR $900 PLUS $50 SHIPPING, A SAVINGS OF $400.

To purchase this painting, please follow this link to my website : http://www.carolnelsonfineart.com/dataviewer.asp?keyvalue=3851&subkeyvalue=115461&page=WorksDetail

Mineshaft, mixed media abstract diptych

This is another in my geologic series and is my largest piece to date. It is painted on cradled birch panel and is quite heavy.

After tearing my hair out a couple times, I finally got this one to where I like it. Sometimes abstract work can be SO FRUSTRATING. I had some textured papers on here at first, then ended up ripping them off. This painting is done with acrylic modeling compound, acrylic and metallic paints, copper and aluminum.

I bought the metals at Home Depot, where they are sold as flashing. The copper tacks and square metal brads, I got at a scrapbooking store. I actually enjoy walking through hardware stores and thinking of artistic uses for various things I find there.

For purchase information, please see www.carolnelsonfineart.com, click on "works," then "abstracts."

SOLD

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Rose Quartz, 24x24 acrylic geologic abstract

Another in my geologic abstract series, this painting has lots of texture and silver metal leaf. It features bronze, quinacridone crimson, burnt umber, silver and black acrylic paints. It reminded me of rose quartz, a rare mineral which, supposedly, promotes feelings of self worth.

If I had cherry cabinets, stainless appliances, and dark granite, I would want this for my kitchen. Oh, I've been watching too much Home & Garden television.

For purchase information, please see www.carolnelsonfineart.com, click on works, then abstracts.

Lapis and Gold, 24x24 acrylic geologic abstract

This painting has a lot of gold metal leaf and texture that makes it so interesting. I painted over the metal leaf in a lot of places so it's shininess is subdued. You have to be careful with metallics not to over do them, or they can overwhelm the painting.

To purchase this painting, please see http://www.carolnelsonfineart.com/, click on works, then abstracts.

Ancient Elements, 24x36 acrylic geologic abstract (SOLD)

I continue the geologic abstracts. This one has a metallic elements that do not show well in the photo. I love how rich the colors turned out.

For purchase information, please see www.carolnelsonfineart.com, click on works, then abstracts.