Hello and welcome!

My name is Nelli Forras and I am the artist behind Happy Cloud Art Studio. I am a self-taught artist with a passion for creating original oil and acrylic paintings of landscapes and seascapes as well as experimenting with new techniques. I love sharing what I have learned, my experiences, and skills, but most importantly helping others recognize that they too can create works of art worthy of being displayed for all to see.
I discovered my passion in 2015 at a paint event where an instructor was guiding us through a painting. It amazed me what a beautiful result I got from following simple directions. I started watching all kinds of instructional videos and painting along. One of my friends joked that Bob Ross would be proud of me. Being from a different country, Bob Ross was not part of my life growing up, so I had to look him up. That’s when I discovered the Joy of Painting and fell in love with that show. I have painted dozens of paintings listening to Bob Ross’ hypnotizing voice. My paintings were even featured by PBS as I won a Bob Ross challenge!
All of this was happening while we were stationed in Japan and that unique situation provided me with an opportunity to teach a painting event to my friends. I was super excited to share the techniques and tricks that I had learned. I had the best time teaching that class and my friends absolutely loved it, and they kept asking for more.
Since then I have been teaching paint classes at every location our military life would bring us: Japan, Hawaii, California, and now North Carolina. I am looking forward to all the adventures this new chapter will bring! Please subscribe to my newsletter to hear about upcoming paint events and updates on my art adventure!  Thank you for your support!