Inner Landscape Pencil, ink, Pastel on Paper, 30” x 44”
Playground Pencil, graphite, pastel on paper, 14.5” x 15”
Underwater Pencil, ink, Pastel on Paper, 30” x 44”
Nancy O’Hara | INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
Q. How did your passion for art begin taking shape for you—at home, school, a mentor, and
other artists who inspired you or a personal experience that started the fermenting
process?
A. My largest canvas and finest artistic expression – my own life – continues to be a work in progress. Moving to the Hudson Valley from New York City in 2015 added a thrilling new dimension to my life’s artistic adventure: a playground filled with beauty and the opportunity to express with pencils, ink, pastels, crayons and paint on various surfaces what cannot be expressed with words. My passion for making visual art has been nurtured and inspired by many brilliant art teachers since I first walked into an art class and picked up a pencil and sketchbook. Meredith Rosier, who first introduced me to abstract art, has especially influenced me and she continues to guide me into a deep exploration of this new and fascinating language. I learn something from every artist I meet and from every artwork I gaze upon.
Q. How would you describe your artwork, in terms of materials or mediums? Has it
changed or evolved since formal training and what are your goals for it?
A. My purpose in making art is to touch the ineffable, to go beyond words into the deep belly of
creativity. It is to meet myself in the wellspring and have a conversation with the viewer, to
communicate in a deep and intimate way at first sight, in an instant. I strive only to be in
harmony with each line, each splash of color and splatter of ink as it strikes the painting surface,
to reveal what is already there. My life is my greatest work of art and the small canvases I draw
on are part of my vocabulary.
Q. How important is a personal style to you as an artist or does your work reflect larger social and cultural issues?
A. My longtime practice of Zen meditation has taught me that we are all connected and that I can’t
help but be influenced by the larger social and cultural issues in the current zeitgeist. All of my
experience and everything that makes me, will show up in my art. I try as much as possible to
leave my ego out of it, but of course a personal style will be revealed. Just as my signature is
unique so is every drawing.
Q. How do you feel about being part of a woman’s art organization?
A. I love being a woman, being around women, and being a part of a woman’s art organization.
