Murder and Mayhem and Mother Goose!

poor cock robin

As you known, I often tear up nursery rhyme books to create my animal collages as these old fashioned poems quite often have fauna references. I am working on a rooster right now and have found plenty of cock-a-doodle and fine hen limericks.

I have to tell you though, I have found these old books to be full of violence! Between the rhymes and Wile E. Coyote dropping that anvil on the Road Runner's head... it's amazing we turned out as well as we did. And how about Tom and Jerry? Geez!

I often suggest to my students that they try putting text in collages upside down when it's not related to the subject matter, or they do not want it to be read and processed by the viewer. Be careful not to include the obituaries or police log in your work, too.

As for Cock Robin, may he rest in peace.
And I think I would not even include him upside down.

Please Save The Date and Join Me?

Easter Chickens

Chick-A-Dee, 24x24, collage on panel, Grand Bohemian Gallery

Being Easter Weekend and all, I think the Chick was a good piece to bring the the Grand Bohemian Gallery in St. Augustine this weekend. The opening for the show and my demonstration of collage technique was enjoyed by a very consistently large crowd at the gallery on Friday night.

The crowd was steady on Friday at the Grand Bohemian Gallery in St. Augustine

I started the chicken piece as a companion to Rock-A-Doodle (a rooster), which I also completed this week for the gallery and my featured exhibition there.

Beginning stages, pencil sketch on birch panel

Beginning stages, acrylic underpainting

Beginning stages, acrylic underpainting

Beginning application of collage paper overtop

Rock-A-Doodle, 24x24, collage on panel, Grand Bohemian Gallery

Penultimate Peafowl and other flying things

Peter Peafowl / 36x48 / collage of hand painted papers on panel

The peacocks were the penultimate set of twosies for the Noah's ark exhibition which delivers April 17th for an April 27th opening. I had a great time creating Peter, he dominated my easel and my studio with his width! Peter and Priscilla will be the cornerstone pieces of the exhibit due to both their size and my signature image being the peacock. 

 Dover Dragonfly / 20x24 / collage of hand painted papers on panel

 Deandra Dragonfly / 20x24 / collage of hand painted papers on panel

The final set I created for the show, by popular demand, was dragonflies. When I asked for suggestions with regards to what to make the final set, an overwhelming amount of people suggested these colorful insects! And many thanks to good friend and fellow artist Kim Santini for sparking the red/cyan color combo through our many inspired art convos. 

How does it feel to be done? Well, it's been a year in the making and now that it's done, I'm thinking I'll do something other than animals for a while. Botanicals, portraits, flowers, maybe?

But rest assured, I've got another deadline right behind this one....

Noah's Ark Series Exhibition Guide

The Exhibition Guide is a 56-page spiral bound booklet in full color

The Noah's Ark Series opens this month at the Thrasher Horne Center for the Arts at St. John's River State College in Orange Park, FL. This show has been one year in the making and is my largest solo exhibition to date. To commemorate this event, I have designed and printed an Exhibition Guide for the show which features all 50 pieces, 25-sets of twosises.

The Exhibition Guide is a 56-page, 8x10 spiral bound booklet with graphic design by Yours Truly. The Guide features 50 large color images with several insets of work in progress photos.

Opening Reception April 27th

Show Runs April 28 - June 16

Thrasher Horne Center for the Arts

Cherie's Progress

Friends forever: Barbara Beasley, Cherie Stannard, Yours Truly

Cherie has a brand new place where you can make TAX DEDUCTIBLE donations! Her uncle worked hard at finding out how to make the possible. She really still needs all the help she can get as she has no health insurance and is relying on Medicaid to pay her bills and they do NOT cover everything she needs.

Cherie and Yours Truly last February on her birthday

President Obama raised a record breaking amount of money for his campaign in $5 increments online. Can you give $5 to help an amazing woman in need?

As of late she has been making progress! She has been gaining strength in both arms and is finding she has more sensation in her right arm. She is able to keep herself up sitting straighter without the benefit of armrests and THIS IS HUGE! It means that the muscles in her torso are getting signals, which means her spinal cord is making pathways and her brain is getting the message. She is also getting tingling in her legs, which is also new. Physical therapy has helped this very much, but PT costs money and Medicaid does not cover all of it.

Here is the link, check it out for yourself and consider a small donation, forward to your family and friends. Do something good for a stranger today. It will make you feel good, I promise.

 http://www.helphopelive.org/find-a-patient/profile/index.cfm/patient/E209D2EA-B1F5-9953-49F117782A848AC7

Progression of the "she fowl"

©St.Hilaire Nelson, sketch on cradled birch panel, 36x24

The female peacock marks my FINAL piece of the 50 for my Noah's Ark Series Solo Exhibition at the Thrasher Horne Center for the Arts. This show opens April 27th and runs through June 16. I need to finish the artwork this week in order to print the Exhibition Guide I have been designing.

©St.Hilaire Nelson, sketch with beginning under-painting on cradled birch panel

All of my pieces start with a pencil sketch on a clear primed birch wood panel. I prime clear in order to give myself the freedom to leave some of the grain and striation of the wood showing through, should I so desire. This is a decision I a make somewhere along the way, and it's not pre-planned.

I block in the local color and define my values with the underpainting. I am playing with the background paint application as I intend to leave the green above her head painted. This decision I THINK is made, but we shall see what happens when I get into the glue.

©St.Hilaire Nelson, under-painting on cradled birch panel

The "she fowl" is in my studio drying, I'll add collage application later in the day today or this evening. Most of the time I work at night and on the weekends as graphic design is my day job. Every now and then you do see daylight behind my easel in a photo though. I snuck out there this morning at 5:30 and this afternoon around 1:00pm. Nothing like a deadline to motivate!