Nevada Artists AssociationFeatured Artist Show: Cynthia Brenneman & Bruce Nelson

Cynthia Brenneman’s "What did you do for Covid Relief?" watercolor painting show is a small anthology of what we did when isolated for Covid. Obviously, living in the Northern Nevada mountains, many of us hiked, skied, fished, and continued to pursue the many outdoor activities available during Covid. For Brenneman, painting still lifes is a form of meditation. Losing herself for hours painting makes the days go by faster than worrying about what is next. She has tried many art forms (glass blowing, neon, oil painting, floor cloths, encaustic painting, murals, doll making, greeting cards, felting, graphic design, beading, etc), but keeps coming back to watercolors. Still lifes in particular, hold her interest. This series was only intended to be a couple of paintings, but new ideas kept appearing. Brenneman finally called an end to the series even though more ideas were still bouncing around in her head.

Bruce Nelson is a photographer and printer. He has photographed buildings (particularly windows), landscapes, trees and flowers on the Atlantic coast, in the Appalachians, and now in the high desert. Eight years ago, he began experimenting with using printing techniques for his photographs, including blueprints (cyanotypes), photogravure, palladium, platinum, silver, copper, and iron. He is currently working with close-up photography and infrared photography and prints with botanical teas made from various plants gathered on the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada. Bruce’s daughter, Nora Nelson is a hydrologist with the National Park Service. She is a skier, biker, hiker, and nature photographer and assists Bruce with his printing techniques.

Photos: "Comic Relief" by Cynthia Brenneman and "Cottonwood Print" by Bruce Nelson