Mona Nelson

For over 30 years, Mona Nelson has explored the shifting boundaries between brush strokes and all that they are meant to capture. That zone where your eyes take in broad, layered slashes of blues and whites and produce what to your mind must be nothing other than a tossing sea; where your eyes ... moreFor over 30 years, Mona Nelson has explored the shifting boundaries between brush strokes and all that they are meant to capture. That zone where your eyes take in broad, layered slashes of blues and whites and produce what to your mind must be nothing other than a tossing sea; where your eyes discern narrow, wispy clumps of yellows and reds yet somehow conjure a vivid dusk creeping up behind hovering stalks of corn. That zone is where she has long aimed to be as an artist. And luckily, a peculiar place exists for every object and every moment in the universe lying between life and its reflection, so like any artist who allows her mind to wander across the landscape, Mona has never stumbled into a dead end or run out of things to scope out.
Although she has been held back a bit by time (five kids can have that effect), she has rarely stopped applying palpable textures and layering colors to produce scenes that radiate the warmth of life. Her other major point of inquiry besides the play of light in nature is the essence of life in the human body.
Many of her paintings present just enough of a scene to allow you to sense the occupant's mood or train of thought. They might appear unmoved by what's going on nearby, or focused intently on a particular task; however she presents these people, Mona infuses them with life's inherent dignity.

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