Janet Nelson

Art Mediums

• Acrylic

Biography

I grew up in southeast Wisconsin on a dairy farm. My grandmother, a professional seamstress, inspired me to create. Sewing, knitting and baking were outlets for that creative desire until I could start to take art classes in school.
When my husband retired from the Navy, we lived in DePere where I got involved with the local art groups. Painting furniture, then murals and applying faux finishes were among my first art projects.
Work took us to the east coast. I discovered oil painting workshops with Al Staszesky who was mentored by Ed Loper, at the Delaware Art Museum in Wilmington DE. Both were students of the Barnes Foundation. As a result, I now work with a limited palette, choosing to mix my own colors. It allows me to play with the interaction of color next to color with a wider range of variety.
Since returning to Wisconsin, art fairs, plein air events, and art shows have been my focus.
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“Paint the color you see. Don’t be afraid to put the brush to canvas. It’s only paint.”
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My style has evolved through observation and changes in my environment, but I have learned not to take myself too seriously as a result. I paint what I feel as I know that each piece that is created ends up qualifying the one before, and becomes a recognizable style.

I have always been fascinated by Wisconsin artists Bridget Austin and Joye Moon’s ability to use negative space in their art for a long time. I started to see new uses trending in some of the artists I followed on the internet such as Este Mcleod, Jessica Swift and Charlie O Sullivan. Started exploring by painting over unfinished paintings, leaving parts of the original painting exposed. Birds were easy shapes to create.