Artist Rachel Nelson strives for an overall painting composition that combines the detailed light and color techniques of realism with the feel of movement through pure, unblended colors and loose brush strokes of Impressionism, providing the viewer with a visual and thought-provoking experience of contentment.

Primarily a botanical and landscape artist, Rachel Nelson was selected by the Holladay Arts Council as Holladay Artist of the Month for her talent in capturing the nuances of Utah’s changing seasons in her floral and landscape paintings. The springtime fine sheen of butterfly ranunculus petals and the delicate haze of tint on summer peonies can be found in many of Nelson’s oil paintings.

“I love the changing seasons of Utah,” Nelson said. “You can paint spring magnolia blossoms in town and then minutes away, be in the mountains painting a snowy slope.”

According to Nelson, Holladay resident and master artist Marjorie McClure set the course for her choosing a career in art. A foundational piece in McClure’s art instruction was inspiring her high school art students to find beauty, even in the common things of life, and then to paint what they see, not what they know. Her art students embraced these concepts, which fostered the opportunity for many of them to move on to rewarding artistic careers.  

“I attribute a lot of my professional success as an artist to Marjorie McClure, my art teacher at Brighton High School,” Nelson said. “She pushed me to apply for an art scholarship at Brigham Young University and to pursue visual arts. She was influential in opening students’ eyes to the many potential artistic career paths available.” 

After receiving a scholarship and then completing a bachelor’s of fine arts from the BYU Center for Animation, a leading university animation program in the United States, Nelson lived with her husband in different locations from coast to coast before returning to Utah to once again focus on her passion for painting.

Locally, Nelson has had solo art shows at the Fox Shop and at Establish Design. Her work has been shown at the Utah Art Market 1-3-5 fine art show, the innovative Jenni Bee Market, and Art at the Park, where art enthusiasts can meet and connect with known and emerging artists.

Although Nelson’s art has received gallery representation, most of it is commissioned online. Her paintings have received recognition and awards from the online art gallery Minted, and most of her commissioned art is received from a large social media following on Instagram.

Floral artists Katie Whipple and Lynne Millar are two master floral artists
Nelson admires. 

“A combination of Lynne Millar’s super loose floral artistic techniques and Katie Whipple’s fine-tuned detail of light and color would be the perfect marriage in a painting,” Nelson said. “Lynne just has the feel of flowers in her paintings—precise but with feeling and movement.”

Nelson finds quiet time to paint late into the night after her four young children have all drifted off to sleep. When asked how she defines success as an artist, she responded, “Painting makes me happy; it brings me joy. What more success could I ask for
than that?”

Nelson’s artwork will be on display through the month of May at Holladay
City Hall.

To learn more about Nelson’s artwork visit Instagram: @rachepaints 

If you would like to nominate a Holladay resident for Artist of the Month visit www.holladayarts.org/suggest-an-artist. λ