NELVIA'SART.COM

                                                                     The Leap                                                                        9"x12"                                                                       Acrylic Well as they say all good things probably come to an end.  My roll, because that is what it has been, has come to an abrupt stop.  I hit the piano picture and came to a screeching halt.  It just doesn't have any life and I haven't figured out yet how to go about trying to salvage it.  I have ideas, but ... I have been studying drawing the figure and there was much about the fluid flow of the lines of this piece that caught my attention, as well as the way the head is held.   I really liked the pose in this one.   So  while I am trying to figure out what to do with my unhappy picture I decided to try combining transparent washes with opaque again.   It was a black and white picture and I always think it is fun to try to colorize the

                                                                 Break Dancer                                                                     14"x11"                                                                    Acrylic Well we don't watch much on our tv but PBS, sports and weather - can you tell there is a guy in the house?   But I have to admit that I am a fan and either insist on watching or tape So You Think You Can Dance.  Comes from wishing as a kid I could dance, but alas you needed coordination.  Anyway they are the inspiration for the dancers I want to add to this series. I guess I am changing my series name to street performers because I really want to include some really cool dancers that I have found.  I still want to try to keep to this looser way of painting and really comes down to just mark making.  It is a ton of fun and I am not really finding it stressful at all.  I want to keep on just getting out of the way and letting the brush go. I

                                                                The Guitar Weeps                                                                         12"x16"                                                                         Acrylic This is the fifth in my street musicians series.  While this isn't a true drip painting it is a quasi drip and ties in with the title of the piece.  I did this background one day and had to let it dry because there was a lot of really liquid paint on it.   I had several subjects in mind, couldn't make up my mind which could go best with the light colors, so sat on it for a couple of days.  I just decided this morning he was the one to go with and because I spent so much time thinking about this piece he really wanted to come out onto the canvas and was out and done in about two hours.    It is the craziest thing right now with this series, just get out of the way and let the brush operate. I really liked the angle of his he

                                                                  Heart and Soul                                                                        12"x16"                                                                     Acrylic/oil This is one is ready to be done, the fourth in my street musician series.  I just loved the concentration that this guy has for his music, and yes I think he is making music from his heart and soul.  I also really like the connection between the musician and the cello.  Yes, I do listen to music while I paint.  I am a person who grew up on classical music, my brother is a very talented musician.  I like to listen to instruments rather than keep track of words.  So the music is often soaring in my art room. I am having the best time at just shutting up and listening to my heart and letting the brush go for it.  After all these years it is about time I guess.   I also look at this like I am kind of sneaking up on it.  This is larger t

                                                                          The Beat                                                                            9"x12"                                                                           Acrylic Forgot to say, we made it through the storm and were very fortunate.  Many here in Atlanta lost power due to falling trees.  I guess we were in a less hectic area and got out of the yellow hand sooner so lucky we did not lose power but for a couple of hiccups.  Just 4 inches of rain and some gusty rains. Here is the third in my street musician series.  I think this is another New Orleans French Quarter performer.  Ok, I might have gone a bit over the edge in this one, but .. you gotta go with the flow.  Originally I was going to have another spread the paint background of greens and blues, then last minute decided since he looked so classy and kind of elegant I wanted to contrast him with some real street graffiti.  Now I am

                                                                     The Horn Player                                                                              9'x12"                                                                            Acrylic Well think I am going to get this posted before we lose the power.  Yes!!  Tried to get this finished while we wait for the wrath of Irma.  Thankfully it got really cool and that is surpassing the tornados, so just the rain and wind.  Supposed to start getting progressively worse about now and with all the rain am pretty sure we will be out of power for at least several days. This is the next in the series of street musicians.  What I loved about this Cuban horn player was his baggy "styling" suit, hat and the tie was just the icing on the cake.   Thought it was pretty cool that it emulated his horn.  The tie is actually almost in better condition than the horn, it was pretty beat up and had lost it's shine.

                                                                  Groovin'                                                                    9"x12"                                                                    Acrylic Got my gansta on - doing a little street art today.  Well trying to bring it, here is another more abstract style based on street art.  I don't exactly have the color blocking done in some of the more spontaneous styles, but the background certainly embraces the graffiti feel. This picture has been in my head for quite a few years.  But I just didn't think I could paint it.  Now all of a sudden, without a lot of planning, stressing and apprehension, it just flowed onto the paper. While there isn't a whole lot of painting in this piece, it did take me two days.  I put the background together and because there was a whole lot of paint (I used a palette knife to lay in the colors and move them around) I needed to let it thoroughly dry

                                                                 The Vixen                                                                    9"x12"                                                                   Acrylic Well am giving this pop art things another go.  I liked the idea of some of these crossing over into fashion art as well.  I have a couple of different treatments from pure pop to street art that I am going to try.  Decided to go ahead and make this more the pop art treatment.  Got some elements of the comic in it, but added a bit more facial shading so it isn't totally flat.  But I do have unconventional coloring.  Can't say I am really happy with the way that the hair turned out.   I would definitely need to look into or practice that a bit more.  I have to say thought that this is really fun and I love the boldness of the color blocks. Not real sure of the color choices, but I know that the red and yellow pop against each other and d

HAVE A SUPER LABOR DAY HOLIDAY!! I decided not to do the September 30 day art challenge, but then I decided I am going to try to do a few days, but not be a slave to it.  I needed to come up with a theme.  Well I have to tell you when I let my right brain loose, it tends to go astray, sometimes far far astray.     That happens even though I still only get one martini per week!! In a couple of weeks we will be back in Washington DC, and spending a lot of time at the various art galleries.  One of the areas I walk through very fast, or never visit, is the modern art areas.  Got to admit I just don't get it.  What with all the dots (except Chuck Close, I love him), paint splatters or canvas painted all red, called Red - I just don't get it.  So thought I'd try some of these styles to see if I can gain some appreciation and this time, spend some time in those parts of the gallery. Yes, it's a beautiful day and I am feeling a little frisky and wanted to have s

Pegasus 12"x9" Acrylic Well you know I have been interested in doing skies, which led me to try the moon, planets and nebulas.  So here is another nebula.  I like doing them as it is about as close to abstract as I am going to get, it sort of gets me closer to the surreal world.   QUESTION:  So, what do you get when you take a surreal painting, ADD Pegasus = Fantasy.  Yep, I am calling this the first fantasy piece that I have done and I really enjoyed the heck out of it. The right side of this nebula was rather empty and I thought it would be perfect to add some type of animal.  Lisa, Lachri Fine Art, who I follow on YouTube, adds in whales to her space pictures.  I rather liked the idea of a flying horse.  Could be either a unicorn or Pegasus.  However, I must tell you it took me three tries before I got the right horse, and then several more drawing adventures before I got the right size.  Yes, I measured, but it just didn't look right when inserted.  t