Jumping In with Artist Nancy Fine
Interview by Katie Aiken Ritter
Want to be an artist, but feeling a bit intimidated? Don’t be! Nancy Fine offers proof positive that being an artist—and a successful one—isn’t about having artistic parents or an MFA degree. For Nancy, it was simply a matter of deciding to just jump in and go for it.
And go for it she has.
Only eight years ago, Nancy considered what activities she might choose to fill her hours once she retired from a 40-year career in real estate.
“I knew nothing. I thought all artists painted in their studio. I didn’t know what plein air even meant!” she laughs. “But I went out and bought some painting supplies and got started.”
Nancy was wise enough to get a good foundation, taking classes at Zoll Studios. She developed strong techniques, working in the style known as super realism…but one day had an epiphany while gazing at the wild beauty of a landscape out her window.
“I looked at my painting subjects and thought, I could just take a photograph and it would look like that. It had no meaning to me. Why paint something, I wondered, if it has no feeling?”
Something else was calling: the unpredictable essence of the outdoors, and the deep, nameless emotions that water, fields, trees and sky could evoke.
Nancy learned what plein air meant.
She bought an easel to paint outdoors.
The wind blew her—and her easel—over.
She bought another one.
Nancy Fine
That second easel cost $400—but the investment has paid off handsomely. Only two years ago, Nancy started applying to local plein air events. Now, she’s regularly invited to hard-to get-into juried competitions and is a popular exhibitor at Maryland galleries.
What made this happen? Partly it’s her choice of tools. Nancy now works strictly with palette knives rather than brushes. The vibrant energy and loose structure of her knife work makes Nancy’s paintings appealing to people who enjoy abstracted works as well as traditional landscapes.
Not only does she paint outdoors several times weekly, Nancy works as an alla prima artist. The Italian phrase meaning ‘at first attempt’ signifies that each painting must be started and completed in a single session.
“That canvas is a moment in time. It’s all—all—about the feeling of that day. How the light, the weather, the wind, and everything I’m seeing are affecting me. It’s so heartfelt, so full of love and happiness. What it means to the person hanging it in their home is up to them…but it's a gift from my heart.”
Nancy Fine
Nancy cares deeply about heartfelt acts of kindness that people do for her, so it’s no surprise that her paintings reflect that kind of love.
She also cares about her adored dog Luna, a rescue from Reach Out Rescue Resources. Luna loves to go a’painting with Nancy—and exactly where to curl up while Nancy works. (Heart melt!)
And Nancy cares about the new community of painters she has found, this community of like-minded people compelled to try and capture a moment or express a feeling with the simple tools of paint and knife.
Nancy Fine
Has she retired from real estate? Not even! But Nancy has engaged with the land in a whole new way…and she’s still just getting started.
Want to ‘Jump In’ with Nancy? She will be teaching Painting With A Palette Knife master classes during the show, with times to be posted soon.
Nancy’s work will be at the Manor Mill, a beautiful gallery in a historic grist mill, March 31 to April 30.
Searching for things to do in Baltimore this weekend? At the Mill you’ll find not only art shows but local crafts, music events, yoga, and craft classes—yes, even in woodworking and welding.
Nancy Fine is a long-time resident of Northern Baltimore County, Maryland. This area has been the inspiration for her many Plein Air Paintings. Nancy's preferred medium is oils on linen boards. She has competed in many juried and non juried events-sometimes having only 2-3 hours to choose a subject, complete the painting, and have it framed for the competition.
Nancy's interest in Plein Air painting has evolved over the past seven years. In a transition from the detail of realism, Plein Air has provided the perfect vehicle for expressing her love of the outdoors and awareness of nature. the success of Nancy's work is the result of not only her interpretation of the ever-changing natural surroundings, but of her use of lush colors, and the freedom of brushwork and her pallet knife.
How fortunate to have the 24,000 acre Pretty Boy Watershed in her backyard, a perfect spot to disappear for hours--just an artist, her easel, backpack, and her dog, Luna. Whether it's a beaver pond, a strand of trees in winter, or a rushing stream in spring, Nancy finds a way to connect. From time to time, she is approached by passersby who observe her doing her art and want to buy her paintings.
Nancy received a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Notre Dame College. She has taken numerous classes and workshops, some from Zoll Studio in Baltimore, The Torpedo Factory and Yellow Barn in Virginia.
Contact
gallery@manor-mill.com
Instagram: @manormillgallery