Douglas Nelson had a 33-year-long career in finance before deciding to reverse direction and become a full-time artist. It’s been a liberating but challenging experience.
Nelson, a former Oak Park bank auditor, is among 40 other artists whose work will be shown at the West Loop Contemporary Fine Art Expo Feb. 21- 23. The show will take place at Stephen M. Bailey Auditorium in Plumbers Hall on 1340 W. Washington Boulevard in Chicago.
Nelson recently spoke of his artistic life from his Oak Park studio, where he was surrounded by vibrant colors and carefully measured geometry that captured his happy and energetic style.
In his career of numbers and auditing, a pure coincidence introduced Nelson to the world of lithography.
“I audited a company in Chicago called Circle Galleries. They were the sole distributor of lithography,” said Nelson, describing that he got his first “impulse” through lithographs by Yakov Agam, an Israeli artist, known for his work with bright colors and geometry.
But before art was able to sway him, work took him across the Atlantic. “I got to Germany, I was working 80 hours a week. I had four children and I didn’t have time to do anything, so I had a studio and I played around, it was just a hobby, it wasn’t serious,” he recalled.
During his time in Germany, Nelson was introduced to the art of Sonia DeLaunay, a Ukrainian-born artists who worked in France in the early 1920s. Her abstract, avant-garde, faded – now with time – but colorful work is framed and put in visibly in his living room.
“Her art inspired me tremendously in a different way than [Agam’s] because in her case it was about color. Her and it was revolutionary for the time.” Nelson said.
Drawing from these influences, Nelson describes his own style as “minimalist, hard-edge… very clean lines, but minimalist, abstract.”
In 2016, he returned to Oak Park, a town he admired from his auditing days at First National Bank of Oak Park. The move happened after a rekindled connection with his college ex-girlfriend, now his partner.
Back in Oak Park, Nelson gradually transitioned into art. “I started to wind down my work hours and paint more, and I think in 2019, I did my first kind of real painting,” he said.
His breakthrough came unexpectedly in 2022, when a visit to his dentist’s office led to an opportunity. After casually showing his portfolio, the dentist’s wife – also the clinic’s artistic director –called him the next day, purchasing 18 prints to display in treatment rooms.
“That’s what started things rolling,” Nelson said.
Encouraged, Nelson applied to his first art fair in 2023. “I got into one, then I tried others, and I got accepted everywhere.” That year, he participated in 10 art fairs across Chicagoland, Milwaukee, Ann Arbor, Indianapolis, and Minnesota. By 2024, that number had grown to 15 fairs.
Locally, he has exhibited at the Oak Park Art League and Elmhurst Art League, earning a second-place award at the latter.
While he enjoys showcasing his work, managing logistics can be demanding. “It’s fun once you get there. I like interacting with people and selling, but traveling, setting up, and tearing down is a lot of physical work.” he said. ”
Now, Nelson is seeking a permanent gallery space in Oak Park, ideally a storefront with heavy foot traffic for greater exposure.
His latest opportunity at the West Loop Contemporary Fine Art Expo marks an exciting step forward. “I think there will be other galleries there, different people, and it’s a good chance for me to expand my renommé, you know, just get my name out there,” he said.
For those who frequent Oak Park Bank, you may have already seen his colorful paintings displayed in their storefront
It’s a local artist named Douglas Nelson, a man who escaped the world of finance to the liberating realm of fine arts.
You can check more of Nelson’s art on his website at www.douglasnelsonstudios.com
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