Saturday, June 25, 2011

Tou by Twos



Noah's Ark Series
I've been asked to exhibit 50 pieces at the Thrasher Horne Center for the Arts at St. John's River State College in Orange Park FL. The show will run April 28 to June 16, 2012.

My concept for the show is a Noah's Ark theme with 25 pairs of brightly colored animal collages. I want to make them actual pairs, with elements and/or colors that cross over between the two, to reinforce the theme. I'd also like to create an oversized ark piece for the anchor piece of the exhibit. I'm excited about this show but my husband, who has a much better grip on math than I do, informed me the other day that at this rate I need to be producing three collages a week to meet my deadline of 50 pieces by next April. Um, yikes!

Yesterday I placed an order for 50 20x24 American Easel Wood Painting Panels from DickBlick.com. Not sure where I will store all of this, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there!

If you are working on a big show and need to order such a high volume of materials from Blick, know that you can call their customer service and tell them that you are purchasing in volume. I was able to negotiate an excellent per panel price from them, much lower than I have ever seen in the sale catalogue.

Stay tuned for more sets of twos but this is my first, Toucans. I thought you might like the word play there, I know I do!

I'm headed out on a cruise to Mexico this morning and I have one of these in my suitcase, I kid you not! I can't do any blogging or emailing this week, it's going to be technology free, but I'll be taking photos of my work in progress in my cabin and will share with you when I return.

Thank goodness I have a big suitcase.

Sunday, June 12, 2011

My Dancer



My Daughter Emilie has been dancing since she was 2 years old. I just wanted to take a minute to brag and share her solo with you. I'm so proud of her!

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Cardinal in Progress and Carolina Bound

Cardinal Sketch ©St.Hilaire Nelson

This morning I'm headed to Asheville, NC to teach a workshop and be present at my show opening at the Grand Bohemian Gallery. Recently the gallery took a commission for me to create a cardinal as a pair to on they have on hand, a collector wanted to purchase two together. So, this week I worked on the cardinal while putting finishing touches on some work for the show and shipping.

Cardinal background underpainting ©St.Hilaire Nelson

As usual, I begin with a sketch on wood panel primed with clear gesso. I then under paint the background, let it dry and move to my favorite part, collage. The collector said they wanted more collage in the background than some of the pieces I leave more painted, so I tried to accommodate this request.

Cardinal complete underpainting ©St. Hilaire Nelson

This cardinal will go into a hand made 9x12 red rustic barn wood frame by my frame maker Owen Tomlin to match its mate. If you are interested in some super unique frames, contact Tomlin Wood Products and tell them I sent you!

Cardinal complete ©St.Hilaire Nelson

I am looking forward to my class and opening this weekend. If you are in the area, please stop by or consider the Friday/Saturday/Sunday Workshop, we still have a few slots! (click gallery link for contact info)

The show reception is Saturday, June 4th from 5:30-8:30pm in the gallery, which is located inside the 5-Star boutique Grand Bohemian Hotel in the Biltmore Village section of Asheville, NC.