Juanita Nelson

Soft Pastel on paper

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Some of my earliest memories as a child are watching my Mother mix paints and colors and seeing her apply them to canvas.  I heard words like alizarin crimson and burnt sienna and was taught the colors they represented. I smelled turpentine and saw her create textures with brushes, palate knives, and hands.  I loved playing with her tools and on occasion put paint to paper myself.  I inhaled art like oxygen until it went deep into my psyche and buried itself into my perception of the world.

I have always tapped into that ingrained source of creativity and utilized it in my everyday endeavors. Striving to create beauty around me in a variety of ways has always been an important component of my personality.  I love seeing how nature combines color and texture and form, but have no desire to compete with the perfection around us. Rather, I get to interpret nature and express it in my own much more humble style.

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I have always focused on the creative process and it has been expressed in a variety of ways including jewelry making, interior design, and my professional life.  in the last few years that I have allowed myself to explore the new passion of painting. Painting with pastels has been a wonderful medium in my exploration of the natural world around me. I love working with pure pigments and seeing shapes and forms develop. When I’m painting the practical world falls away and I am immersed in the beauty of nature. Time and schedules disappear and I get to tap into the abundant flow of creativity that is all around us.

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I’m not sure I’ll ever be a painter that only focuses on one style or subject matter when I paint. I love exploring and challenging myself too much. I love painting landscapes but also animals, people, flowers, and whatever else strikes my fancy. 

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I find community connections throughs pastel societies around the country. I am a signature member of both the Pastel Society of New Mexico and the Arizona Pastel Artists Association. I am also a member of the Pastel Society of Colorado and the Pastel Society of America.  My work is displayed in the Studio & Gallery in Durango where I am a represented artist and the SunDog Gallery in Mancos, Co. You can see more of my work at juanitanelsonartist.com

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Studio Address:  862 Main Ave. Suite 216, Durango, CO 81301

Phone: 970-749-4092

Website: juanitanelsonartist.com

Instagram: @juanitanelsonartist

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