Artist Riki R Nelson 2006
July 2009 show and exhibit information
TABLE OF
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Portion of (then unfinished) Newest Major Work, "Girl in a box, Girl in Cherry Silk" 24 x 26 oil on linen ,
By Artist Riki R Nelson
This Fine Art Website, contains information about, and examples of, The Original Fine Art of Contemporary Realist Oil Painter:
Riki R Nelson
July 2009 show and exhibit information
| R. R. Nelson's
studio is located near the town of Los
Gatos in Northern California . Riki R. Nelson is a Contemporary American Oil Painter. This artist combines classical realism, and modernism, to depict the contemporary world - subjects include : bar and night club scenes; portrait paintings of jazz musicians and concerts; in-depth character portraits; unique oil paintings of local Night Cityscapes and street scenes, as well as seasonal plein air paintings of local landscapes and seascapes. Gallery Representation: Peabody Fine Art Gallery of Los Gatos currently carries her unique Bar scences Cityscapes and Jazz Art, featuring "modern realism" portraits of both established & up-and-coming jazz legends including Rita Coolidge, Giacamo Gates, Anton Schwartz and Roseanne Vitro. To view the Art, please visit the Art Gallery Page. Private meetings with the Artist may be arranged for clients interested in larger works, multiple pieces, or commissions. You may contact the studio directly at studio@riki-arts.com or call (408) 623 3544
The Riki-Arts online art gallery showcases a cross-section of available oil paintings. Biography of artist Riki R Nelson. Artistic themes and style: Riki R Nelson became known for her candid portraits of jazz musicians and singers. This body of work has brought her both review (ref 2), and numerous mentions (ref 5,6,7,8). Howvever, Her current work, focuses on bizarre, yet up market, bar scenes - that can include glimpses of angels and other archetypal images, or be true to life, but offer scenes of well dressed bar patrons accompanied by a stripper in glass box, or in a gold mask. The artist also does custom portraits, and city street scenes, and seasonal plein air paintings of the California coastline. Early years: Nelson was born in Sothern California. She grew up between there and the San Francisco Bay Area with her parents, and her younger brother. She was painting and drawing from an early age, and was further encouraged in this by her mother's love of the arts and poetry, and her families' now retired fine art and antique business; Pearl Antiques of Los Gatos. Business: In the 1980's and early 1990's Nelson worked as a professional art consultant and sales manager in fine art galleries. Her list of gallery affiliations included; Dyansen Gallery in Carmel, Chabot Gallery in Campbell and Martin Lawrence Gallery in San Jose. This gave her an understanding of the art business 'from both sides of the canvas', and has given her a very positive reputation in the art industry. Her work has been carried and featured by internationally known Peabody Fine Art Gallery (ref 15) of Menlo Park & Los Gatos since 2005. Charities and affiliations: Nelson has donated both time and art to charities over the years including :"The Los Gatos Art Association", "The American Pen Women" "Pacific Autism" and the organizations that sponsor "Jazz on the Plazz". Nelson has given numerous talks to art groups to help visual artists better understand how to present their art to galleries and the public. Current Gallery Representation : 2009 Education: Numerous drawing & painting courses, over a 20 year period, from 8 different city colleges. The core of her training in realism, she attained on her own, through years of rigerous study from, books, lectures, tapes, observation and experimentation. This process of "self training" continues to present. Official Site :
Publications, Reviews and Shows: Honors and Awards
2009 - One only two Visual Artists to be honored and given awards for outstanding achivement in the arts. for the year of 2009, by The National League of American Pen Women Santa Clara Valley Chapter, Publications REVIEW July 2009 -"Los Gatos Bar Scene Featured in Painter’s New Collection" by Arts and Community writer, Jessica Fromm,
2006 - - Appeared in the October 06 issue of Art Business News Magazine both online and hard copy 2006 Featured Artist in an extensive article of the Winter 2006 issue of "Skyline Magazine" both online and hard copy - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Victoriasky/Water Recent Solo receptions and exhibits Current and Upcoming 2009 July - "A New Direction, recent and never before seen Paintings by Riki R Nelson", Front Salon exhibition at Peabody Fine Art Gallery of Los Gatos, July 20th to August 3rd 2009 2009 July "Jazz on the Plazz" Los Gatos - Solo guest exhibitor at the John Proulx concert on Wednesday July 22nd 2009 Recent 2008 August - "Angel at the Bar, Jazz on the Plazz, Bar Paintings and Jazz Art by Riki R Nelson", Solo Front Salon show and Solo Artist reception at Peabody Fine Art Gallery of Los Gatos 2008 August- "Jazz on the Plazz" Los Gatos - Solo guest exhibitor at the Nestor Torres concert 2007 Show and Solo reception -" Women of Jazz, A Celebration of Today's Divas", A Collection of New Oil paintings by Artist Riki R Nelson of female jazz singers and musicians at Peabody Fine Art Gallery of Los Gatos 2007 Solo Exhibiting Artist - "Jazz on the Plazz" solo exhibiting guest artist at two concerts
2006 - September 06 exhibition and one man artist reception at Peabody Fine Art Gallery of Los Gatos 2006 - Sole artist invited to exhibit and appear for two consecutive weeks at the Jazz on the Plazz concert series in Los Gatos. 2004 - Borders Cafe Espresso Los Gatos champagne reception and month long solo exhibit of oil paintings 2003 - Borders Café Espresso Los Gatos OceanScapes, Visions of the coast champagne reception and month long solo exhibit of paintings and drawings
2006 "Take 3" one of three artists in a large, month long exhibit at Los Gatos City Council Chambers 2004 - "Key Featured Artist" at the Toll House Los Gatos' celebration of the opening of the hotel's new restaurant, the "3 Degrees Restaurant" other events: July 05 - Western New York - Artist Riki Nelson's "Sax in the Park" print was purchased to be featured in the "Sax in the Park" Charity Auction, July 04 - One of the featured artists at Culeto's Los Gatos Hotel Current Gallery Representation
I consider myself a contemporary realist oil painter, even though touches of "classical surrealism" are integrated into many of my works. I strive for realism and expression, punctuated by archetypal imagery. This an attempt to do justice to both my internal artistic vision, and the realities of the immediate, contemporary world. I try to interpret and record the quickly evolving History of the world we live in, that is creating itself even as I write, and you read, this article. Sometimes it is the big collective moments, but most often I want to interpret the poignant personal moments I witness around me. I utilize subtle irony, and a sense of the mysterious, as I experience life far more as a multidimensional mystery, than as a clear flat statement. Each of my paintings is meant to be a true work of art. The original impetus for each piece comes from pure artistic inspiration. From the time a "vision" hits me, a painting may take weeks , months and occasionally years to to compose and complete . I want each painting I create to contain a life and a spirit all it's own; to express something...unique. When not painting, I visit galleries and museums, Or pour over my own personal library of art books and videos. By learning from and appreciating the works of both the modern painters and the classical renaissance masters, I learn new techniques and find infinite inspiration. There are so many painters I am influenced by and admire, I cannot give a single favorite, but the short list would be - Elmer Bishoff, Richard Diebenkorn, Rosenquist, Hopper, Lucien Freud, Odd Nerdrum, Edward Hopper, David Lefil Edgar Payne, Winslow Homer, and of course the timeless master oil painters of their respective periods - Monet and Van Gogh, and Rembrandt, Titan, Vermeer and Da Vinci. I hope that I will continue to learn and experiment as long as I am able to paint, since the purest creative inspiration can be contained in the thrill of discovery. R.R. Nelson
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