I would like to paint the way a bird sings.
~ Claude Monet
Brief Bio
Nancy began oil painting at the age of nine and later studied art at Arizona State University. She has also studied privately with several professional artists and at the Scottsdale Artists School. She is a recipient of two college art scholarships and a recent scholarship from Scottsdale Artists School. She is also a juried member of Oil Painters of America and Arizona Art Alliance and a board member of Art League West. She lives in Phoenix, Arizona. Nancy is an avid hiker and draws inspiration from being out on the trail and in nature.
Artist Statement
My current work explores aspen groves. An aspen grove is made up of one or several clones. Within each clone, all trees are genetically identical and share the same root system. They have the same general structure and the same leaf and bark characteristics. But time and the elements have left unique, individual marks on each tree. Light and shadow also touch each tree in a different way. I am drawn to capturing these individual differences while still depicting the aspen grove as a cohesive colony, as a brotherhood.
I think of myself as of an artist who loves to hike. But a hiker who loves to paint is probably a more precise description. For me, nothing replaces being outside in nature. When I am not hiking, I want to paint what I have experienced in nature. Through the intimate connection I have with nature, I try to capture a simple truth and honesty in my paintings.
Let the commotion of daily life fall away! My paintings reflect stillness and quiet that can only be found in nature. They slow everything down to a single moment. They also let me be alone and look into myself. Alone has always felt like a physical place for me, a room where I find comfort. When I hike or paint, I enter this room, and my paintings are windows into this room.
I began painting in oils at the age of nine. I have always loved the buttery texture, smell and infinite possibilities of oil paints. On the technical side, I enjoy working in the “wet into wet” style that is called “alla prima.” The name comes from Italian and means “at once,” because a painting is often started and finished in one session. This is a direct and expressive style, and it gives me great freedom in blending colors and playing with edges. The colors I mix represent what I observe in nature, and I pay special attention to complementary (opposite) colors. In a forest scene seemingly flooded with greens, reds will reveal themselves to the close observer.
