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Robert Lyn Nelson | |
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 Robert Lyn Nelson in his studio | |
| Born | 1955 |
| Occupation | Artist |
| Known for | Marine wildlife paintings |
Robert Lyn Nelson (born 1955) is an American artist known for his paintings of marine wildlife, particularly those in his "Two Worlds" style, which simultaneously shows life above and below the surface of the sea. [1] [2]
A native of San Bernardino County, California Nelson began creating murals, sculptures, landscapes, seascapes, and experimenting with still life early in his life. When he was 15, his ninth grade history teacher, David Radcliff, recognizing Nelson's talent, gave him a permanent library pass and allowed him to do independent study. He was to focus on the art of the period of history the class was studying and make sketches - Greek and Roman artwork and notes on the specific art created during that period. In addition Nelson (Bob, as he was then known), did his own independent library work where he discovered Johan Berthold Jongkind and copied Jongkind's famous Windmills of Rotterdam. He also executed a series of Rembrandt van Rijn portraits. Nelson completed that study successfully, something no other student in Radcliff's more than three decades of teaching was ever able to do. [3]
He attended Chaffey High School in Ontario, California [4] and won a scholarship to attend classes at Chaffey College [5] at age thirteen. As a teenager he began exhibiting his paintings (his first show sold out) [5] at a series of one-man shows and group shows in Southern California.
Nelson completed four years of art training at Chaffey College and Mt. San Antonio College, he was offered a full scholarship to continue his studies at the San Francisco Academy of Arts.
Nelson moved to Hawaii when he was eighteen years old. [5] According to Nelson, the turning point in his life and his career occurred when he encountered a pod of whales while surfing off Lahaina, Hawaii. "In learning to ride the waves, I also learned to respect the ocean...to feel its pulse with all five of my senses, and to feel its spirit at an extra-sensory level. It was a blend of magic and realism that I wanted to communicate in my paintings," says Nelson. [6] Inspired by this "overwhelming experience", he came up with the idea of painting above- and below-water scenes on the same canvas. [7] It was there that he began painting Hawaiian landscapes and seascapes. When he was twenty-two years old, he moved from Oahu to Maui. He spent a great deal of time surfing, kayaking and scuba diving in Maui, while continuing to paint and study the landscape of the Hawaiian Islands.
Nelson grew a business around his art, Robert Lyn Nelson Studios, which was worth $5 million by the mid-1990s. He used commercial advertising in print, on radio and television to promote his paintings. [7]
Nelson's painting From Sea to Shining Sea was exhibited at the U.S. Pavilion at the 1998 World Expo in Lisbon, Portugal. [1] From March to October 2001, the work was displayed at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History in a solo exhibition along with several of his other paintings. [1] A nationwide tour sponsored by the National Marine Sanctuary System took place following this exhibition. [1]
He has produced and donated paintings to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. His painting Rainforests of the Sea was reproduced as the poster for the International Year of the Reef in 1997. That same year he was one of four Hawaiians to receive NOAA's Local Environmental Hero award. [8]
The creator of "Two Worlds Environmental Surrealist School of Painting," [9] where the viewer sees simultaneously what is above and below the ocean's surface - a new school of fine art. Seeing a group of whales while surfing off the coast of Lahaina, Maui, inspired him to develop the "Two World" concept. [10] He is best known for his marine painting, however, and he has created more than 9,000 original works of art in a range of styles and techniques.[ citation needed ]
His first painting in the Two Worlds Environmental style, was created in 1979 and is called Two Worlds. According to Nelson, "It is a visionary fantasy - more surrealism than realism." In this work he has "selectively shown some of Lahainaʻs historic buildings, but the perspective and multiple light source are imaginary. In the real ocean you lose the whole spectrum of color when you get below thirty feet." [11]
"So exciting was the concept in both perspective and personal style, that imitators quickly arose", says gallery owner Jim Killett. "Nelson perfected the two worlds concept, made it popular, and in the course, spawned dozens of mimics including a few who are generally interested in bringing something good to the genre. The difference, of course, is that Nelson is the only artist who didn't have to learn to paint like Robert Lyn Nelson." [12]
The island of Maui is an island in the Hawaiian archipelago, its second-largest at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2). It is the 17th-largest in the United States. Maui is one of Maui County's five islands, along with Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi, Kahoʻolawe, and Molokini.
Kaanapali is a planned resort community in Maui County, Hawaii, United States, on the island of Maui located in the Old Hawaii ahupuaa of Hanakaʻōʻō, as in the same name of the southern end of Kaanapali Beach's Hanakaʻōʻō Canoe Beach. The population was 1,161 at the 2020 census. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined Kaanapali as a census-designated place (CDP).
Lahaina is a census-designated place (CDP) in Maui County, Hawaii, United States. On the northwest coast of the island of Maui, it encompasses Lahaina town and the Kaanapali and Kapalua beach resorts. As of the 2020 census, Lahaina had a resident population of 12,702. The CDP spans the coast along Hawaii Route 30 from a tunnel at the south end, through Olowalu, and to the CDPs of Kaanapali and Napili-Honokowai to the north.
Mā'alaea is a census-designated place (CDP) in Maui County, Hawaii, United States. The population was 310 at the 2020 census. Mā‘alaea sits on the southern coast of the isthmus separating West Maui from the island’s Central Valley. Like other ahupua‘a, it widens as it descends from mountain slopes into the sea, occupying 5.4 square miles of land and 2.3 miles of ocean. For more than a millennium, Mā‘alaea has been a crossroads, a landing place for Hawaiian kings and armies, and in time, whalers and sailing ships. Highways follow the ancient trails that once branched north to Wailuku, west to Lahaina, and south to what are now the towns of Kīhei and Wailea. The name Mā‘alaea comes from the Hawaiian word ‘alae, the iron oxide from volcanic eruptions that gives the region its iron-rich red earth.
Chaffey College is a public community college in Rancho Cucamonga, California. The college serves students in Chino, Chino Hills, Fontana, Montclair, Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga and Upland. It is the oldest community college in California.
Laird John Hamilton is an American big-wave surfer, co-inventor of tow-in surfing, and an occasional fashion and action-sports model and actor. He is married to Gabrielle Reece, a former professional volleyball player, television personality, and model.
Johan Barthold Jongkind was a Dutch painter and printmaker. He painted marine landscapes in a free manner and is regarded as a forerunner of Impressionism.
Chaffey High School is a public high school in Ontario, California, United States. It is part of the Chaffey Joint Union High School District and rests on approximately 65 acres (260,000 m2), making it one of the largest high schools by area in California. The school currently serves northern Ontario and southern Rancho Cucamonga.
Hawaii Superferry was a Hawaii-based transportation company that provided passenger and vehicle transportation between Honolulu Harbor on the island of Oʻahu and Kahului Harbor on Maui. Legal issues over environmental impact statements and protests from residents of Maui and Kauaʻi temporarily delayed the implementation of service, but service between Oʻahu and Maui began in December 2007. The company had hoped to return service to Nawiliwili Harbor on Kauaʻi and additionally planned to eventually provide service to Kawaihae Harbor on the Big Island.
Clay Marzo is an American professional surfer known for his unique "double-jointed" style of turns and spins. He was raised in Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii where he currently resides. Marzo has been acclaimed for his creativity and innovation as a young surfer, and featured in several films.
Dave Archer is an American reverse glass painter and sculptor.
Dwight Baldwin was an American Christian missionary and medical doctor on Maui, one of the Hawaiian Islands, during the Kingdom of Hawaii. He was patriarch of a family that founded some of the largest businesses in the islands.
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Vladimir Kush is a Russian born American painter, jewelry designer and sculptor. He studied at the Surikov Moscow Art Institute, and after several years working as an artist in Moscow, his native city, he emigrated to the United States, eventually establishing his own gallery on the island of Maui in Hawaii. His oil paintings are also sold as giclée prints which contributed to his popularity and led to the establishment of further galleries in Laguna Beach, California, and Las Vegas, Nevada, Miami, Florida. The artist has become part of the American cultural environment and is inspiring others. He is the only Russian artist in the US who has his own galleries where prints account for 80% of sales. European recognition came in 2012 with receiving from the hands of Marina Picasso prestigious Artiste du Monde award in Cannes.
John Severson was an American editor, author, filmmaker and artist, widely known as the founder of Surfer, a magazine focused on the sport and culture of surfing. Severson also created a diverse body of artwork dedicated to the sport.
Emma Maynon Kaipuala Veary is a lyric Coloratura soprano born in Hawaii.
County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund, No. 18-260, 590 U.S. ___ (2020), was a United States Supreme Court case involving pollution discharges under the Clean Water Act (CWA). The case asked whether the Clean Water Act requires a permit when pollutants that originate from a non-point source can be traced to reach navigable waters through mechanisms such as groundwater transport. In a 6–3 decision, the Court ruled that such non-point discharges require a permit when they are the "functional equivalent of a direct discharge", a new test defined by the ruling. The decision vacated the ruling of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and remanded the case with instructions to apply the new standard to the lower courts with cooperation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The U.S. Marine Hospital, also known as the U.S. Seamen's Hospital, was one of the earliest remaining buildings in Lahaina, Hawaii. It is listed as a contributing property to the Lahaina Historic District.
The Lahaina Heritage Museum was a heritage museum and history museum located in Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii. It was a part of the Old Lahaina Courthouse on the second floor, having opened in 2004, years after the courthouse was restored yet again in 1990.
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