Thea N. Nelson - Biography
Thea Nelson was born in the heart of Minnesota surrounded by verdant farm fields, rolling hillsides, and vast snow drifts in the winter months. Thea eagerly embraced a deep love of nature, embedded in her heart by a sensitive and creative mother who walked her through meadows, forests, and stream beds as soon as she could take her first steps. Relocated to Colorado at the age of five, her formative years were spent exploring the Rocky Mountains with glittering mountain streams, rugged terrain, and infinite wildlife. In 1980 she moved east to Long Island, New York into an invigorating environment surrounded by the moods of Long Island Sound and the volatile Atlantic.
Thea has won numerous awards but her greatest achievement she notes is the satisfaction she receives upon delivering a painting to a patron. "When I introduce the painting to its owner for the first time, and witness the emotional response, it in turn gives me goose bumps. At that moment, I know I have accomplished my goal of creating a painting that speaks to one's soul."
Striving to achieve painting excellence she has hand picked her instructors with care. Thea has studied at the Art Students League and at the National Academy of Design in New York. Thea’s paintings can be found in private collections through out the United States from Alaska to Maine.
Thea Nelson's Artist Statement from:
Vose Gallery, Boston, Massachusetts
Thea Nelson was included in the Vose show with Don Stone as her mentor.
Artist Statement
The Don Stone/ Monhegan connection was a thoroughly euphoric experience. The intense beauty of Monhegan Island engulfed with Maine’s dancing light, interwoven with Don Stone’s ability to challenge the artist within myself. Don’s critiques were always fresh, peppered with his irreplaceable humor, but also filled with solid painting principles to digest. The total effect was intoxicating, Monhegan, Don’s class, and Maine’s miraculous light. Don has enlightened me with the basic ideology necessary to advance my painting skill. I followed Don to France and Italy for classes where we were utterly immersed in to a “Heaven on Earth” painting experience.
I know nature is the ultimate beauty, like the masters I admire, Frank Benson, Joaquin Sorolla, John Singer Sargent, and Winslow Homer, who also believed in that premise. Winslow Homer would walk backwards at dusk not to miss a sunset. Frank Benson was said to have owned a jar of paint called “sunshine”. Henri Rochefort’s comment on Joaquin Sorolla’s work in 1906 stated, “never has a brush contained so much sunlight.” I methodically follow in the footsteps of these great masters looking to nature for insight. I thank them all for the invigorating inspiration their art and lives have given me.
24 Clam Shell Alley - Vinalhaven, Maine 04863
941-474-1015 - [email protected]