An Artists Journey
Plein Aire and Studio

Sandy Nelson has been a professional artist for many years. She studied Fine Art and painting at the University of KY and the Scottsdale Art School. Her portraits and landscapes have been accepted to national juried competitions from Maine to California, many winning national awards. Her work is included in over 70 corporate and museum collections including those of Sam Walton, founder of Walmart and George Steinbrenner, owner of the NY Yankees. She was named one of the top 200 artists in 1993 by the Artists Magazine and has been profiled in “The Rotarian” an international publication. She maintains her studio in Leland, NC but travels extensively to paint. Painting, in and out of the studio is a joy and a gift....so is teaching.  Sandy teaches 3 day workshops in oil and pastel as well as ongoing classes.  She is reminded that every day is God's gift and tries to use it wisely and creatively.

 Artist’s Statement:

 My influences are as diverse as the great Spanish, Russian and French impressionists to a childhood amid the dark hills of eastern Kentucky. In the latter I found a sincere appreciation for the beauty of the world around me, in the former, inspiration to express it. My work is not edgy nor avant-garde; it doesn’t follow fads or trends – it is simply truth, as I perceive it. That is what I hope the viewer takes away with them.

 The subjects of my painting may be a cloud, a leaf, a figure or bowl of fruit – one is a monumental as another. The paintings are memories of a moment in time, a representation of my emotions and ideas, which is transferred to the viewer. In my studio I live with these words, which remind me that it is truly a gift to be an artist.

            “I believe in Michelangelo, Velasquez and Rembrandt; in the might of design, the mystery of color, the redemption of all things by Beauty everlasting and the message of art that has made these hands blessed: Amen. Amen.    --George Bernard Shaw