Feature Articles
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March Issue 2006

Ella Walton Richardson Fine Art Gallery in Charleston, SC, Features Works by Craig Nelson

Ella Walton Richardson Fine Art Gallery in Charleston, SC, will open its fifth annual exhibit of the finest in Craig Nelson's newest oil paintings, his sole exhibit on the east coast, on view from Mar. 3 - 25, 2006. Known for the brilliant sheen radiating from his landscapes and portraits, Nelson's national artistic reputation follows him to Charleston for the exhibit The Beauty Within.

Nelson is known throughout today's network of living artists and their collectors as an exhibitor of immense technical prowess. A graduate of California's Art Center College of Design, Nelson first established his professional role as an artist through commissions with the film and music industries. He created countless artworks that appeared as movie posters and album covers for such projects as Homeward Bound and Natalie Cole, Thankful.

A signature member of the California Art Club and the American Society of Portrait Artists, Nelson instinctively knew that his artwork would be most appreciated by private collectors searching for awakening, distinction, and tranquility. Today Nelson splits his attention between his teaching responsibilities as the Director of Fine Art, Drawing, and Painting at the Academy of Art College in San Francisco and creating his finest portrayals of an extensive array of subjects.

Long an admirer of travel, one of Nelson's primary focuses in The Beauty Within is his own atmospheric depiction of landscapes ranging from California to Europe. In Tuscan Street he gives the viewer a magnified sense of coming upon a mysteriously shadowed sidestreet. The shadows echo the sharp curvatures of road meeting buildings, and call into greater attention Nelson's own mastery of perspective. Through the accents of fluttering sage green shutters and two streetlamps seemingly suspended in air, Nelson brings the Renaissance-era ambiance of this deserted corridor to the present moment.

A second featured work in the exhibit is the illuminated painting Reading. Nelson's strong affinity for portraiture and capturing the essence of transparent light are beautifully displayed in this piece. Inherent to the construction of Reading is a strong triangular movement beginning with the downward gaze of the woman reading, the transfer of concentration to the magazine open between her hands, and finally the magnificently rendered wine glass resting on the table. Throughout this piece, Nelson's mastery of capturing differences in surface textures of the scene before him on the single texture of his own canvas is supremely evident. From the crinkles of swept-back curtain fabric to the gleaming reflection displayed on the wood tabletop, Nelson fluently brings the tactile details of one woman's afternoon solitude to the forefront of our vision.

Nelson will also be conducting a three-day workshop, Painting the Charleston Landscape, from Mar. 4 - 6, 2006. Please inquire with the gallery for further information.

For further information check our SC Commercial Gallery listings, call the gallery at 843/722-3660 or at (www.ellarichardson.com).


 

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