Nancy Howard
Oil Painting
I use oil paints on cardboard
Directions to Studio #20 at 260 Screech Owl, The Sea Ranch: From Hwy 1, turn east on Halcyon. Proceed to the stop sign at Deer Trail. Turn left onto Deer Trail and proceed to Screech Owl. Turn left at Screech Owl. 260 is the second house on the left.
Studio Hours
Tour Dates Aug. 29-30 & Sept. 5-7
11 am to 5 pm
Cardboard is everywhere and it is a friendly material: lightweight, strong, easy to cut and bend, and easy to paint. It lends itself to play and experimentation.
Over the years, I have used it to build supports for artifacts, theatre props, architectural models, and study carrels for classrooms. Recently I started taking it apart and using its internal structure to make molding for framing my pictures.
A playful attitude and the availability of supplies are the starting point for what I do in my workshop. From there it seems to be a question of paying attention to how I feel about what I see and telling about it with the paint.
It’s a mystery to me, how that works. How is it that all of my paintings look like they have been painted by the same person? What do I do that causes them to look the way they do?
For one thing, I have always been a rather literal person and that same word could be used to describe my paintings. They could all be considered “portraits” even though the subject is rarely a person and they are not completely realistic. I am hoping to become less literal and more expressive when I paint.
Former work
Art Conservator:
De Young Museum: Tapestries, Rugs, and Costumes
San Francisco Opera House: Tapestries
Hearst Castle, Crocker Art Museum, Californian Parks and Recreation: Historic Artifacts.
The Anne Getty Collection: Textiles
Museum at UC Davis: The C. Hart Merriam Collection of California Indian Baskets.