Nelia Harper is a classically trained artist who represents the environment and people with whom she lives. Her diverse subjects range from still lives to plein air landscape paintings to portraiture and narrative figure work. Working from small detailed studies of natural objects to life size figure in the landscape, Nelia chooses from a wide range of shape, color, texture, edges, line, mass and the interplay of those forms within space to create a story that is open to the viewer’s interpretation. While her work is primarily accomplished in oil, she also creates in pastel, egg tempera, watercolor, gouache, and a variety of drawing mediums including silverpoint. “Drawing and painting is a tactile exploration of light, shadow, color and form within a chosen medium. Each endeavor is an attempt to understand and depict form in space, our relationship to nature, and the beauty I see. Every piece has a story to tell.”
Nelia shares her knowledge in a wide range of workshops, teaching youth and adults, creating community art projects, and encouraging others in the creation of art for personal and public engagement.
She is a past grant recipeint of the Minnesota State Arts Board and Arrowhead Regional Arts Council. She studied at the Great Lakes Academy of Fine Arts in Duluth, MN and holds a Bachelor of Arts from St. Catherine University in St. Paul, MN. She organizes local plein air paint-outs in her community and is a member of Outdoor Painters of Minnesota.