Your Name: Michael R. Nelson
Location: Carmichael, California
Title of Artwork: Road to Fort Smith
Dimensions of Artwork: 20 X 40
Medium: Oil
Support: Canvas
Website: http://www.nelsonfinearts.com
Describe this Piece: Western depicting US Marshals and their prisoner wagon transporting a prisoner from the territories to Judge Parker in Fort Smith, Arkansas. There may be a gang of bandits, friends of the prisoners following the wagon in an attempt to rescue him. The original is on permanent display at the U.S. Marshals Headquarters in Washington D.C. and will eventually be on permanent display at the U.S. Marshal Museum in Fort Smith.
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Gwen on Mon, 12th Oct 2009 12:45 pm
WOW…..This magnificent. Its so real that you can almost hear the gun fire and the popping of the whip.
Gill on Mon, 12th Oct 2009 4:35 pm
Wow…that is really good. I love the way you have captured an old feel to the painting
Shirish Deshpande on Tue, 13th Oct 2009 3:49 am
Hello Michael,
You have really done a great painting. Those boulders are my favourite. And the trees in the background are so just. I liked the composition very much. Many thanks for sharing this wonderful work.
Sana Almimar on Tue, 13th Oct 2009 8:29 am
Micheal,this painting is more than beautiful, it is terrific ,i liked it so much
Raymond Mosier on Tue, 13th Oct 2009 12:17 pm
A beuatifully rendered, technically accomplished piece.
However, there isn’t country like depicted in the painting within 1000 miles of Ft. Smith, so the painting’s title is troubling. This looks like it is happening in the far west to me or Colorado the closest to Ft. Smith.
Mike Nelson on Wed, 14th Oct 2009 11:07 pm
Ray: You’re absolutely right. U.S. Marshals at one time were the only law in the Indian and Oklahoma Territories, which now makes up the state of Oklahoma. The Marshals transported prisoners and outlaws from the territories to the federal court in Arkansas that had jurisdiction over the territories. The scenery depicted in the painting does not match the typical scenery you would see in Oklahoma, for which I apologize for not being as historically accurate as I probably should have been. Sometimes we take artistic liberties to create something that matches what we envision in our heads and forget what it should be. Since this was not meant to be an historical accurate piece, it worked for me.
I used the name Fort Smith for two reasons. One, it was the judicial seat for the territories and second it’s currently where the U.S. Marshal Museum will be located. The prisoner wagon is an actual prisoner wagon for the Oklahoma Territories that I obtained from the U.S. Marshal historian, so I tried to be at least somewhat accurate in that respect though I did make some changes to it for composition purposes?. I do appreciate your comments and in the future I will try to do better.
Ingrid Albrecht on Sat, 17th Oct 2009 4:11 pm
Hi Mike,
After admiring your painting, “ROAD TO FORT SMITH”, I would have to agree with the others who commented here on this post. You have told us a STORY with your painting and have kept us engaged looking around within your work. GREAT job!
I would like to offer a few comments!
I am always telling my students to paint and create so the the viewer stays a long time within their works. One way to do that is with the use of EDGES! Edges create a mystery within a piece of art. Some edges may be lost, hard, broken, soft, and by artistically using these edges, the artist can guide the viewer around his/her painting. It is just a personal opinion, but the use of some lost and found edges (maybe less detail in the background vs. the foreground), or even within the main figures and horses themselves, you could add add a variety of edges.
One other observation I have is that your painting is split in temperature between WARM and COOL. Maybe have it have a dominance of warm, or a dominance of cool. I always think in percentages: 80 -20 BEST, 70 – 30 GOOD, 60 – 40 GOOD, 50 – 50 NOT ACCEPTABLE. This can be used in all areas of the elements/principles of design.
You are a very talented artist and quite good at storytelling through your painting! Keep painting and thank you for sharing your lovely work with all of us!
Ingrid
stacie on Tue, 11th May 2010 10:56 am
Wow, that is fantastic. Very real looking and the attention to detail is so good. I’m jealous now, I wish I could create something that looks like that. I’m very much a beginner but this piece is inspirational. Great job.