Nancy Nance
Literary Arts: Poet; Visual Arts: Painter; Shadowbox, Collage
Between the ages of 1 and 3, I lived with my maternal grandparents in a one bedroom house my grandfather built in rural Southeast Texas. It was a Garden of Eden with vegetables, fruits, flowers, grapevines, bees, birds and me. This was my playground and classroom where I learned colors, shapes and shadows that changed with the time of day and the seasons. In the hot Texas sun, I often climbed on the limbs of my grandfather's fig trees and looked up to blue sky. I appreciate color, movement, spontaneity, humor, quiet understatement, invention and mastery of technique. If I live to be 100, I will never forget a time in my 20s when I stood in a Chicago museum looking up at a large John Singer Sargent painting towering over me; it was the moment I first knew that art could be powerful. I carry a small sketchbook for notes and sketches of my vision of a finished piece for later use in my little studio. I have worked in watercolor, collage, pencil, pen, charcoal, pastel, oil, lithograph, silkscreen, assemblage, mixed media, and now acrylic. My artwork is eclectic, whimsical and thought provoking. Originally self-taught in creating collage, watercolor and pencil, my college coursework included varied interests of art, interior design, journalism and communication before acquiring a degree in Public Relations. I have had 4 careers in the applied arts; Interior Design, Visual Merchandising, Floral Design, and teaching multiple interior design subjects. In addition to continuing design work, I am a painter and artist in varied mediums. Born in San Antonio, I grew up in Southeast Texas, Houston and Austin. I have been an artist since the age of four, when my stepfather, a professional artist in oil painting, taught me the use of art supplies. In addition to art, I am a published poet and a member of The American Academy of Poets. Interior Design work and travel have taken me to Miami, Los Angeles, Houston, Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio, Honolulu, Chicago, Denver, Tucson, Phoenix, Scottsdale, Santa Fe and Palm Springs. During these times, I met Johnny Mathis, Don Ho, Gloria Steinem, Charles Ward, Tony Bennett, Count Basie, Greer Garson, Dr. Robert Schuller, Gray Hawn, Glen Campbell, Mark Gastineau and Peter Max. I currently live and work as a Painter, Interior Designer/Decorator and Visual Merchandiser in historic San Antonio Texas.
