A flame glows in Nelly Volcanes’ name. It glimmers in her artist soul. One word into a conversation with Nelly, and you’ll feel her bubbling energy, deep emotion, and lifelong passion.
Perhaps a volcanic deity turned sand into glass just for Nelly, because a glass bottle became her very first painting surface. Its transparency, gloss, and vibrance drew her in. She began painting bottles with her inner glow and glimmer, and restaurants—her bottle benefactors—offered her their empties as gifts, both for art and for the joy of recycling. And it launched her art career.
Nelly’s creative path has never been linear. She studied in her late twenties, earning a business degree from Middlesex University in London. In her mid‑thirties she welcomed her child. Years later, at age 45, she moved to the United States—an uprooting that would eventually open the door to her artistic life.
She says, “Stained glass, papercraft, sand, ceramics, painting, drawing—I keep changing. I cannot stay with one medium or do the same stuff twice. I work as I feel in a particular moment. Sometimes the art spirit in me just pops out of nowhere. Mediums I explore connect to my emotions like freedom and imagination.”
Nelly Volcanoes
Her “craziness for painting bottles,” as she lovingly calls it, began when she arrived in South Carolina in 2015. From there, her curiosity expanded. “I started buying small canvases,” she says. “And then a wide variety of surfaces. I’ve never stopped since.” Her business training only strengthened her success, helping her navigate showings and opportunities with confidence.
Art runs in her family. Her mother was a dedicated artist, and her grandson may be following the same path. “To be a good artist, you have to think positive,” Nelly says. “I feel so comfortable when I’m painting, I forget to eat, drink, sleep. I’m in another place. I tune out everything.”
But the journey wasn’t always easy. Born in Venezuela, she once worked in a difficult company environment while caring for a new baby. “I needed a change,” she says. That change came with her move to South Carolina—an opening, a breath, a beginning.
In recent years, Nelly has found both her home and her purpose. Restaurants like Don Leon’s, 462 Dillard Road in Highlands, have sought out her colorful, cheery, Highlands‑buoyant art. Visit Don Leon’s and enjoy the joyful vibe her work brings to the space.
To contact Nelly, send her a note at Nvolcanes@yahoo.com; Instagram: @nellyart.volcanes; or text (786) 201‑4373.
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