''Birth of a Mermaid'' Contemporary Figurative Oil Painting, by Van Ness

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'Birth of a Mermaid'' Contemporary Figurative Oil Painting by Nancy T. Van Ness

Great gift, Full size oil painting. 47.5"x72"

… Read more 'Birth of a Mermaid'' Contemporary Figurative Oil Painting by Nancy T. Van Ness

Great gift, Full size oil painting. 47.5"x72"

Nancy Van Ness

Oil Painting Artist

As seen in galleries across California, Florida, Missouri, and Kansas; with collectors from New York to Los Angeles to Switzerland.

Artist Bio

Nancy Van Ness is an American oil painter working across figurative, animal, and abstract subjects. She holds a BFA in Design from the Kansas City Art Institute and an MA and MFA in Painting from Fontbonne University.

Artist Statemen
t
Painting is how I think. It's where I sort out what I'm feeling and turn it into something I can share; a way of taking in the noise of the world and setting it down as color and form.

My process is intuitive. I lay down color with an idea in mind, then let the composition lead; building in oil, working in layers, often finishing with oil pastel, my favorite medium for a final mark of texture or light. The results move between abstraction, abstract expressionism, and impressionism, depending on where the painting takes me.

I'm drawn to oil for what it lets me express; the weight of a moment I can't quite say in words but can move across a canvas with a brush or a knife. What's happening in the world around me finds its way into the work, filtered through gesture and color rather than statement.

My hope is simple: that what you feel standing in front of the painting is close to what I felt making it, and that it leaves you with some of the same quiet it gave me.

I work with sustainable materials where possible, including recycled substrates, eco-friendly frames, and natural pigments.

woman painting
figure study
figural
goddess painting
figurative painting
contemporary figurative art
female form painting
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