Linda D. Nelson is on a self-guided mission to learn as much as she can in the lifetime she’s been given.  Her quest to become a fine artist began at age eleven when she dreamed of showing in a gallery.  Her first piece, an etching, was shown at a Jr. High art show taking place at South Coast Plaza mall.

Since then she has studied in several artistic mediums including oils, pastels, watercolor, egg tempera, several mediums used in scientific illustration.

Linda’s pieces have shown at Diana Bottoms Gallery, at CHALk Gallery and Gallery113; the SLO-Poke show at Flag is Up Farms, and for many shows benefiting worthy Central Coast nonprofits.  She is a co-founder of the SB Art Association- Student Art Fund.

Her primary focus has been the Western landscape, much influenced by backpacking the High Sierras in her Jr. and High school years.  With a keen interest in cultures, Linda has collected information and images (photo and mental images) of long ago times up to present day.

She studied in watercolors while living in St. George’s, Bermuda, where she was raising her family and working in scientific illustration. Her illustration work has been published in professional scientific journals and research reports.

Upon returning to California, Linda pursued plein air landscape painting in oils with Santa Barbara artists Larry and John Iwerks, Michael Drury, and Ray Strong. Linda has studied portrait and figurative work with Duane Unkefer, Adrian Gottlieb and Jeremy Lipking.

Linda has been grateful to be studying pastel with Ojai artist Bert Collins since 2008. In her quest for technique and knowledge she has enjoyed workshops taught by Richard McKinley and Kim Lordier.

She is the new owner of Ancient Earth Pigments, an on-line art supply company, and, as Atelier Nelson LLC will be offering art workshops and classes in 2022.  When time and safe health allows, Linda teaches drawing, color mixing, pastel, and oil painting to ages ranging from five to one hundred and five.

Ancient Earth Pigments features a blog and a YouTube channel with instructional and paint-along posts and videos. Video topics include making egg tempera, watercolor, gouache, and dry pigment mixing to reproduce discontinued pastel colors.