June 2012 See Recent Work and Current Exhibits by This Artist

Major New Studio Work

"T Bird Summer Sunset , Los Gatos"
24" x 36" oil on blocked canvas. A new, never before shown oil on canvas.
One of a kind cityscape of the
downtown area on a summer evening.
Also in this exhibit...

Small Jewels, New Plein Air Paintings
of Los Gatos

"Canada Corner, Los Gatos" 12" x 16" Oil On Linen $525, framed

'View of Hills from Main Street, Los Gatos', 12" x 16" Oil On Linen $525, framed

About the T Bird Summer painting...
From the Artist.. "...The inspiration for this painting came to me one summer evening during last year's Jazz on the Plazz concert series. Just at sunset, - between sets - I decided to wander the downtown with my camera. It was a perfect summer twilight. People were just coming out dressed for the evening, children were running, joyous, knowing they had hours before they were called in. The restaurants wafted smells of garlic and barbecue down the streets on a breeze that felt like a warm bath, and there it was; a white, vintage T Bird sitting at the stop light. I felt like I was taken out of time. I felt, for a moment, like it could be anytime from the 1950's to 2050; a perfect small town summer moment outside of time. I knew I had to paint it..."

"Marquee Ala Gatos"
20 x 16 oil on linen

About the creation of the "T Bird Summer Sunset" painting; The people in the painting were not taken from a photo. They are images in my mind of people I have seen around town, or that I imagined should be in the scene. The blond in the T Bird, was inspired by the blond in the film "American Graffiti" and the "mysterious red head" on the left, is a very glamorous friend of mine, who is now an international figure, but who grew up with me here in Los Gatos. Because of the complexity of the subjects, and the fact that I use photos only as reference material to add realism to the paintings when combined my own "visions" - rather than just reproducing a photograph - this painting took months to create and complete. The sky was cloudless that evening, so I created what I thought it should look like on such a magical night; the color of the sky, the angle of the light - all part of a vision. I approached the creation of the car and buildings, much like I would a portrait. A place, a car, a building, can posses it's own personality, so in this piece, I attempted to bring that forward in these elements, and to then wrap them with the sublime atmosphere that permeated the scene.

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Riki R. Nelson

- previous exhibit -

'Valeriano's Restaurant, Los Gatos' 12" x 16" Oil On Linen $525, framed

A very special collection of never before shown new studio and plein air paintings will be shown. The Paintings in this collection range in price from $295 to $2600-

Exhibit runs: May 19th thru mid June

Exhibit Location -
Peabody Fine Art Gallery 11 North Santa Cruz Ave (at Main St). Los Gatos California 95036 -

For information Contact Gallery Director, Ruth Dailey -
Phone 408-395-3440
email ruth@peabodyfineart.com
gallery web site www.peabodyfineart.com
artist web site www.riki-arts.com

Sold "What the Bartender Said" oil on linen 20" x 16"

Available! "Wailin Sax " oil on linen 24" wide 18" high

About the Artist -
Although best known for her realistic depictions of the Los Gatos', "Jazz on the Plazz" musicians and singers, R.R. Nelson is also an accomplished painter of Cityscapes and plein air landscapes. The painting "T Bird Summer" took months to create and was inspired by a perfect "Los Gatos Moment" one evening last summer during a "Jazz on the Plazz" concert.