We recently connected with Nancy Foster and have shared our conversation below.

Nancy, appreciate you joining us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

Growing up on the East Coast, I always loved drawing, painting and crafts. My grandmother lived in NYC and provided me with the opportunity to visit many of the art museums there and I credit her with instilling in me a love of art. I have always enjoyed traveling and exploring art museums wherever I go. My dream was always to be a painter someday.

My parents discouraged me from going to art school and were only supportive of me going to a college to earn a degree that would provide me with a career in which I could make a living. I studied Chemical Engineering and went on to graduate school in Bioengineering in Utah. This provided me with the opportunity to explore deserts and mountains in the west. My epiphany came while on a camping trip in Moab. We arrived in the evening and could see nothing. Waking up to the natural beauty of the red desert and snow covered peaks of the La Sal Mountains was awe inspiring and that is when I decided I would never go back East. This opened up a new way of life for me with outdoor pursuits and really was transformative. After graduate school, I worked in industry for a number of years and had two children. I didn’t have time to paint, but it was something I always hoped to do in the future.

My husband wanted to move back to his home state of CO. We made a deal that if we moved, I could pursue painting. The children were still babies at that time, which still didn’t give me enough time to paint. But, life was passing by and I realized that if I didn’t start painting, it was going to be too late. So, when my youngest was in kindergarten, I began. I am grateful that my husband supported me in this endeavor. Never having had a formal art education, I took workshops with some leading artists whom have had impact on my work. Some of these include Mike Desatnick, David Leffel, Rose Franzen, Huihan Liu, Mark Boedges, Ken Auster, John Poon and Tony Ryder. Mike Desatnick has been a particular influence and continues to be an inspiration. I have also learned a lot by reading, watching videos and experimentation.

While I appreciate all kinds of art, representational art, in which the artist creates a two dimensional interpretation of a three dimensional scene is of most interest to me. I am fascinated by how the eye sees and how the brain processes the information. The paintings which most resinate with me force the viewer to assimilate the information and evoke emotion. This is to say, the artist provides just enough information so the viewer must participate in completing the vision. Pursuing this ideal will be a forever challenge and goal for me. I enjoy painting portrait, landscape and still life subject matter.

Do you wish you started your career sooner or later?

I have always been conflicted with my decisions. On the one hand, I wish I started painting seriously when I was young. I think of all the time I spent studying engineering and if I had instead devoted that time to going to art school and pursuing a career in art, I could have been a much better artist. But, hindsight is 20/20 and there is no way to know how much of a struggle that would have been or how that path would have changed the other aspects of my life.

On the other hand, I at times regret giving up my career. However, I wanted to be the one to raise my children, not have someone else raise them while I was at work. Quitting gave me the opportunity to take care of my children and start to pursue my dream, but so much time was lost and I could never hope to replace the income with my art. Now, I can just look to the future and continue with the time I have left. Marketing is a real challenge for me. I assume, there are other artists like me who would much rather spend the time painting. Social media is not a place I want to be, but I realize that the paintings won’t sell themselves and I need to enter the 21st century.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

The previous question addressed some of this.

I sell original representational oil paintings (framed or unframed), giclèe and metal prints and cards on request. I will also paint commissions. I am not locked into a certain subject matter; I enjoy painting landscape, portrait and still life. I’m not sure I solve any problems for clients, unless they want help with creating a piece for a certain space. I am most proud of receiving an award from the Oil Painters of America on my painting “Waiting for the Big One.” Also, for my perseverance. I live in Durango, CO and there is not much opportunity for instruction. I have learned mostly from reading, videos and short workshops. I have had to experiment a lot.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

When I paint I am in a zone. It is hard to explain, but I am fully engaged. If I don’t paint, I get antsy. It is something that I need to do and it fulfills me. This is not to say it is easy, painting is hard work, but I enjoy the challenge. I guess if it were easy, I wouldn’t do it. It is a different kind of challenge than engineering.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I think many people think that painting is easy, that art is just fun and carefree. To me coming up with an idea and executing it is much more difficult than other endeavors that are cut and dry. I also think that times have changed and many people are not as interested in original paintings as before. Also, the trend is contemporary and abstract art. But, I enjoy representational art much more. The challenge is providing what people want vs what I want to do.

When I started, it seemed that galleries were the main way that artists sold their works. Many galleries have shut down with the internet age and the pandemic didn’t help. Artists can make more money selling on their own than having to pay high percentages to galleries. However, I feel that I am stuck in the middle. I have not engaged in social media and for me this makes it really challenging to get onboard. I like many artists enjoy the creative aspects of what they do more than the sales and marketing aspects. I am not comfortable putting myself out there or talking about myself. So this is where the galleries provided assistance. I know I need to engage more. But, for me it is a conundrum. I cannot stand some of the self-promotion that I see from some artists or other businesses, such as recipe sites when they go on and blab. I am not interested in all of the excess. So, I don’t want to pester people or tell a story that no one will care about. But, what I am hearing is this is what I need to do.

Contact Info:

• Website: nancyfosterart.com
• Email: [email protected]