Update

Well the mural is "done". That means it will be put aside for a few weeks and be pulled out to have a fresh view of it. Nelson has been waiting for Michael to get home from studying in Israel, he has a good eye and can see what needs to be worked. Two other friends are great for seeing needed detail changes, Bud and his son, Tom Miller. I always give my two cents. Nelson knows that when he asks me to come out to the studio to look at a painting my first response is always "it's not done".

Nelson has been working with the mounting and finishing. So far the techniques he has learned and applied to smaller work have really pleased him.

Ta Dah

The mural is basically finished, Nelson and Ernie put it on the side of the barn to see how it looks and decided what needs to be tweeked.

Rolling it out and tacking it. The piece is huge.

From a distance.

It reads well.

Fun!

Studio/Nursery

Because Nelson's studio is a converted car shed he's not a bit fussy about kids and animals being inside. Over the years he has had baby lambs, calves, sick cats and dogs needing time to recover from run-ins with porcupines. Today I brought home fourteen baby chicks for him to babysit until they get big enough to go into the coop. He says it should gives his paintings an even more realistic "air" of country living.

Update

The mural for Jackson is really coming along splendidly. Nelson has reach the last bit of the painting but hasn't done the background or the sparkle. He has learned some great new techniques and finishes for watercolor. I am always amazed at how generous other artist are with their time, talents and techniques. A good friend of ours and a truly talented artist Albin Veselka http://www.albinveselka.com/ has been over numerous times to help Nelson with the baby moose. Nathan our grandson has also been helping this week. He's the one at the right, he paints right along with grandpa.

Jackson Piece Continued

This large scale work has posed some interesting challenges. Here Nelson is preparing to lay out the middle part of the work. He had to build a support piece over the window that faces Schwitzer. No view of the ski resort this week. The two boxes at the ends are to support the paper rolls. I was surprised at how heavy and bulky the paper is to handle. It is definitely a two man job. Because the piece is so big Nelson had to build a platform outside of the studio to project the image to the scale that is needed.

Here's a view from the outside. We are grateful the weather has cooperated.

Painting Upside Down and Right Side Up

The mural is being laid out and painted in sections. Nelson is finishing the first section minus the background. He needed to climb up on the table to get to certain pieces of the painting. Because the paper is so big it is a lot harder to turn. Nelson is loving the scale of this piece, he is having way too much fun.

Everything had to be scaled since he is using several different photographs to compose the piece. You can see from this photo he has been painting upside down.

Here he is doing the intial scratching on the first section of the painting. Tonight he will lay out the next section, it will be over eight feet long. That much paper is a lot to handle, it really ought to be a three person job but this afternoon we managed it with two.

What's in Cartersville Georgia?

Nelson and I just got back this afternoon from Cartesville Georgia and a working trip to the Booth Museum, if you can call the southern hospitality we received work. It was a mind expanding experience and the two days that I was able to enjoy the art while Nelson worked wasn't nearly enough for me to see and expereince everything there was to learn and enjoy. It is an art museum that carries significant work and a wonderful collection. The building itself is beautiful . Take some time and learn more about the museum on their website www.boothmuseum.org. Of course their site can in no way really give you a sense of the treat the awaits. I also got to meet Jack Morris of Morris Whiteside Gallery www.Morris-Whiteside.com in Hilton Head North Carolina. He has been so good to Nelson and I over the years. It was great to finally put a face with the voice of this really wonderful southern gentleman.Natalie and Lisa were amazing and spent countless hours preparing for Nelson's watercolor workshop. The museum staff is the finest I've experienced , their creativity and hard work are evident in everything they do. They love their jobs and the community and that love shows.

The museum asks their visiting artist to do a quick sketch on these large canvases in the member's lounge. Here Nelson is hanging up the canvas after finishing his two minute cowboy.

Starting the sketch.

Teaching the watercolor class. Nelson hasn't put on his painting t-shirt yet which was suppose to save his good shirt which it did, but he did manage to paint his jeans. He has ruined countless shirts forgetting that his shirt isn't for wiping his brushes on so now he just wears old t-shirts unless he forgets and goes out to the studio to just do one little thing an realizes he has wiped his brush on a dress shirt.

The class at the end of the day. These people were astounding, such enthusiasm and excitement for art. After seven hours they were still ready for more.

I can't say enough good things about the museum, Cartersville, the people we were able to associate with and the lessons they taught us. It was FABULOUS!

Jackson Hole Commisssion has Begun in Earnest

We had a sunny day yesterday so Nelson took the opportunity to stretch his paper outside on the side of his studio. Twenty-four feet is a lot of paper.

Usually the paper is stretch inside of the studio with a bucket of water and a big paint brush. he loved using the hose. Nelson uses an all cotton paper out of England.

Tacking the paper down was actually a three person job, but we got it done.

Influence

People often ask Nelson what artists have influenced his work. That is always an interesting question, and one that I would like to give some insight to. This is Nelson's mother Clara in 1937. Clara was an amateur artist her whole life. She worked in oils and also did some stunning work on china. She loved to create beauty. Early on in Nelson's life she recognized his gift and talent. She always made sure that no matter where they lived whether in Argentina, Uruguay, California or Arizona that Nelson always had a place to create. That was a real gift for a young boy. Another gift that she gave was that she always told Nelson that if someone else could do something so could he, he could accomplish anything he wanted in this world. With that kind of influence Nelson had the courage to try and try again, to study, observe, try new things and test new ideas. Not everyone who loves art has had that kind of encouragement. So who has had the greatest influence on Nelson's art. No question, definitely his mother.

Jackson Hole Airport

Nelson is working on some schematics for the 20 foot long mural in the Jackson Hole Airport. Here are some of the drawings. He will work with the client sometimes through several revisions before they are both happy with the way the project is moving.

The figures on the left bring scale to the painting on the right

A lot of research goes into these projects.

Several draft overlays will often times combine several different poses.