Dell Nelson Sketches exhibit in Chapel through March 23 Dell graduated from the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts in 1949 and began a career in commercial art as the staff artist for a newspaper. He says, "The importance of visual communication has had a profound influence on my entire career, from the drawing board side of freelance art, working with various media, and later, through positions in corporate advertising management." His current interest is centered mostly on old buildings, selected not just for their architectural excellence, but because they have endured. Most of them have developed a unique charm as they have matured, quite different from the original building design. Of his art, Dell says, "I prefer the spontaneity of a finely sharpened charcoal pencil to other mediums. It provides the flexibility to quickly and accurately express the contrast of light and shadow on weathered and splintered wood, rusting metal, broken concrete, curling paint, and the blackberry vine creeping through a broken window, all contributing to the essence of the building's personality that I want to capture. I can also portray the tiniest of details, which adds to the realism of the drawing. That sharp point also allows me to control the placement of values, one stroke at a time, without blending or cross-hatching, which produces more vibrant mid-tones. I praise God for the gift of creative talent He has given to me. And now that I'm retired, I enjoy using that talent to draw fresh, new angles of crumbling, old buildings."