Poster Artist

2026 - Virginia Nelson, Birmingham, AL

We are excited to announce that Virginia Nelson will be the featured artist of 2026.

Growing up in Birmingham, Alabama, she was introduced to painting by her mother and never put the brush down. After earning a BFA in Graphic Design from Auburn University, she returned to her first love—painting—and turned it into her full-time pursuit in 2020.

Much of her work is inspired by the Southern landscape, particularly the Gulf Coast, where they have family and spent a great deal of their time growing up. Those experiences fostered a deep appreciation for the coast’s wildlife, waterways, and ever-changing colors, elements that frequently find their way into her paintings. From wading birds and marine life to abstract interpretations of marshes and coastal ecosystems, her work celebrates the beauty and character of the natural world.

Working primarily with acrylics and palette knives, she builds layered texture and custom-mixed color to create depth, movement, and emotion in each piece. Whether abstract or rooted in realism, her goal is simple: to create work that sparks joy, evoke a sense of place, and invite viewers to form their own connection with the subject.

“I have always been inspired and drawn to coastal art. Then I was working on a big shrimp painting and felt it needed something else. That is when I invented my coastal cowboys that you see in this painting!” Virginia Nelson.