I attended the prestigious School of Art at the Art Institute of Chicago in the late 1950s and early 1960s.  However, I had to set aside my art career to raise a family and develop a successful framing and gallery business. First in Edina with Nielsen Studio and later in Saint Paul with Master Framers Inc., I was able to acquire a national reputation for my skills as a frame designer, maker, gilder and conservator. 

 

Early in my career, I was part of a group that produced one of the most successful art fairs in the Midwest, the Uptown Art Fair, held annually in Minneapolis, of which I was a participating vendor in its first 13 years.  I was also actively involved in the development of St. Paul’s Lowertown blossoming arts district and on the national scene with the Professional Picture Framers Association.

 

Now retired, I live full-time at my studio in the woods of Northwestern Wisconsin and create paintings of the fabulous wonders of nature, wildlife, and people.  While I admire plein-air painters, I prefer working in the comfort of my studio on several paintings at a time, working primarily in oils.  I produce figurative works, landscapes and still life in a more traditional style.  While I have done abstracts and think they are fun and creative, I find representational subjects more satisfying and challenging.

         

Whatever I paint, I need to feel an emotional connection to the subject—be it an old car rusting away in a farmer’s field or a portrait of a loved one.  For me, there has to be a connection.  At times, I copy other artists’ work that I admire, as a learning process.  Even then, the subject obviously needs to strike a chord with me.  In a nutshell, I paint what moves me. For more information and examples, see my website at www.rogerhnielsen.com.