Chris Nelson
My art, both in pastel and photography, is inspired by the creatures great and small that inhabit the Pioneer Valley, especially the sheep and lambs that graze in my meadow during all seasons when the grass is green Most of my motivation comes from my own backyard. I am lucky enough too live on several acres at the edge of a wetland where many creatures both wild and domesticated allow me to observe them. I majored in art in college and received a master’s degree in art history, which I taught for ten years at Boston State College. However, I then became a lawyer and worked for twenty five years as a labor relations administrator for the Board of Regents and UMass, sadly neglecting my first love – art. Now I am retired. I serve on the Leverett Conservation Commission where I work to preserve the habitat of the animals I love. Happily, I am able to devote valuable time to photographing and painting the myriad verities of life around me.
