Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Interview with Gallery Artist: Nancy Noel May

This week I had the pleasure to interview artist, Nancy Noel May. Many of you may not know that Nancy wears many hats. She is the gallery manager here at Spectrum, is a painter, a jewelry designer, our resident pearl-knotter, kayaker, ballroom dancer, enjoys water aerobics, is a member of the Wrightsville Beach United Methodist Church, walks the 'loop' weekly with a friend, loves photography, is a member of a book club and loves to cook. I asked her when she slept and she laughed! Believe it or not Nancy has to get in at least 8 hrs of sleep each night. She doesn't watch much television, listens to books on tape, and is always very socially active.

Nancy has been painting since she was 8 years old. She says she feels there is an images inside of her that have to get out. There are paintings in her mind that are completed and she transfers them to canvas. Traveling gives Nancy the most inspiration. She is drawn to Mediterranean countries and those hot vibrant colors that go with them! Wrightsville Beach and Italy have been her favorite places to capture in a composition.

This year, Nancy will be traveling to Palm Springs, CA with a fellow Spectrum artist , Mandy Johnson. There they will take a 1 week painting workshop. Nancy is always growing, constantly learning and expanding her horizons. Recently, she has been working on gessoed 300 lb watercolor paper which is easy to travel with to inspirational locations. This way she can paint a la prima, or "in one sitting" in plein aire. Nancy will also travel with Star this year on their annual trips to the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show as well as to Paris and Basel, Switzerland where they will be attending an international jewelry show. With Nancy's current studies of color, texture, unique canvas materials, and with her history with warm, rich colors; what will come out of her images of Paris, I can only imagine.

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