Walter W. Nelson

INSPIRATIONS FROM THE HIGH DESERT ABIQUIU NEW MEXICO

Being a multi-disciplined artist, I have created a unique body of work combining photography, drawing and encaustic painting, resulting in nine framed, unusual visual constructions. Size 21.2 x 17.5 x 2 inches.

My inspiration in creating these works comes from the natural surroundings where I live in Abiquiu, New Mexico. When walking in the arroyos and sandy washes after a heavy rain or snowfall, I photograph in black and white, ghostly ribbons, lines, stripes and patterns that have formed in the bed of sands, gravel and rocks from the recent flow of water.

I make a print of the photograph and overlay it with tracing vellum. Then, using the tonal values as a background element, I create an exceedingly intricate line drawing on top using an ink pen. The drawings are abstract in nature, emerging from a reinterpretation of the photograph. With the drawing completed, I again photograph it while in registration with the original photo, allowing the tonal values beneath to bleed through, creating a composite image. That I mount on a background of four-inch borders, painted with a thick encaustic layer, creating a texture relief, establishing a third dimension to the image. The image is then raised above the encaustic background mounted on dibond backing floating between museum glass.

Walter Winings Nelson
2021

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