Anita Nelson

My educational background is a B.F.A. from the Cleveland Institute of Art in Enameling with a Painting minor and
Masters of Art Education from Case Western Reserve in Ohio. I am Iiving in the Madison, Wisconsin area with
artist-husband Mark A. Nelson, four cats: Zoey, Zif, Zeke and Zog and their arch rival Zuzu the wonder dog.
Currently, I am working on a series of acrylic paintings in my home based studio.

After teaching high school art at Cleveland Central Catholic and Grand Valley H. S. in Ohio, I entered into the
world of free-lance illustration for over 20 yrs. Working for several publishers and a variety of businesses gave me
the opportunity to work in a variety of media and subject matter. I dealt mainly with children's trade and text book
illustrations for Scott Foresman Publishers, D.C. Heath, Harper-Collins, Cricket Magazine, Publications
International, Wilton Corp. and others. My studio at this time was based in the Dekalb, Illinois area, where my husband taught at Northern Illinois University.

My work is more involved with whimsical images and the creation of childhood memories. Using a range of materials in "old master" and "contemporary" approaches to create my images, they always show my love of animals. Oil paints, acrylic paints, colored pencil, ink, make-up the majority of the materials that I have worked with. In the last couple of years my primary focus is using acrylics on composite board, clay board or cold press watercolor board.

The series of recent works is entitled "Fruit, Flowers and Flying Things". Two works of the represented: "Back in Time" and "In Half the Time", are a branch of this series for they have a secondary element:Time. I refer to it as the "Tick-Tack II" series. My philosophy about what I do involves wanting the viewer to create their own story about what they see and I hope one sees a little mystery in it. I do not want to be the only creator in the process of the art.

The process for me involves the 3 -'To's : To Learn, To Grow, To Foster.

I am currently represented by Grace Chosy Gallery in Madison and Long branch Gallery in Mineral Point, Wisconsin. This summer my husband and I will be a part of the "Nelson Family" show at Lancaster Gallery, Lancaster PA. A piece entitled "Pear Pendulum" is now on exhibit at the Rockford Art Museum's Midwestern Art Show until the end of July 2006.