Painting Gallery

I started drawing and painting as a child but my favorite medium became oil painting. In the early 60's my parents gave me the opportunity to study art at Paier School of Art with Ken Davies, former instructor and dean, who has been heralded as one of the country’s foremost still life painters. I continued painting for many years doing a variety of subjects but my area of interest was still life, landscapes and seascapes.

As a young child I used to visit my father's store on Saturday's to help him out, or perhaps it was to keep me out of mischief. One year an artist from Italy rented out the top floor of his building to use as a studio. My father visited his studio one day told him about my interest in art and he offered to let me come visit his studio. The artist's name was Mr. Mundo (I was 11 at the time and adults didn't have first names back then) and that visit turned into a weekly ritual until Mr. Mundo finished his commissions and returned to Italy. He had been commissioned to do some murals for churches in the area. Those visits with Mr. Mundo were truly inspirational watching him paint. At the end of each visit Mr. Mundo gave me an old brush (he apparently never used them for very long) and some paint. It was truly inspirational watching him paint and after graduating from college my parents gave me a wonderful graduation gift... a trip to Italy. I went with a friend and did the typical tourist stuff but my goals were to see as many of the works of Michelangelo (my idol) as possible while I was there. I got to see many of his famous pieces as well as a few I never knew existed and I was truly blown away facing (well not actually since they were so much larger than life) the statues of Moses and David. Truly awesome! I have traveled to many places since then but that was one trip that will forever remain in my mind.

I stopped painting in 1992 when I suffered a "melt down" due to stress from my job. I was unable to work and had lost all interest and inspiration to paint. It would not be for another 8 years before I got back into art and then it took on a totally different meaning for me.

All of my drawings disappeared when my parents retired and sold their home moving to an apartment. Many of my early paintings were sold or given away years ago but I was able to retrieve those paintings that remained in my mother's home when she died. Below are the paintings that remained and I still have in my collection.

Looking at these paintings and my current works you can see how my work has grown and matured since these paintings were done. My early work seems to lack the passion and emotion that is evident in my current work. I strongly believe that my art, which became my therapy after my breakdown as well as my life experiences since then have given my work new meaning and I have blossomed as an artist to a point I never dreamed I would achieve.

If you would like to view more of Alan & Nedra's work, please go to www.picturetrail.com/nedradenison

How to purchase an oil painting.

If you would like to purchase one of Nedra's oil paintings, please contact Nedra.