At the invitation of Group of Seven artist Arthur Lismer, Nancy Stevens became a scholarship student at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.  On completion of her art education at Mount Allison University, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Fine Arts, she was employed by CBC Television as a graphics artist. After her marriage and while raising two daughters, Stevens continued to work as a commercial artist. When time permitted she painted and began exhibiting her realistic acrylics. During the 1980s she was represented by Nancy Poole’s Studio in Toronto where she had sell-out shows every two years.

Stevens left a safe and successful career to explore ideas and methods which resulted in HORIZON PAINTINGS, a 1995 solo exhibition of abstract paintings at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, followed by IN TRANSIT, an exploration of autobiography, at the Confederation Centre Art Gallery in Charlottetown in 2001 and PATHWAYS at the St. F.X. University Art Gallery in 2010.  After a 15-year career of teaching drawing and painting, creative and critical thinking, Stevens now lives and works in Antigonish County where her studio overlooks her vineyard, Cote St. George.

A structure to support arts and culture

I’ve been a VANS member almost from the beginning when the provincial government encouraged and assisted citizens to set up a structure to support arts and culture. Living in Halifax at the time, I served on the Board and as volunteer on exhibition and fund-raising committees. I haven’t been as active since moving to Antigonish County 18 years ago because time was limited as a practicing artist, teaching at St. FX and NSCAD, conducting workshops across the country, and supporting local activities. But after retiring from teaching, I really enjoyed the VANS mentorship program with Nicholas Johnson, committed and smart, who is now working toward his MFA at the Royal College of Art in London.

Everything, as if planning a painting

Everything influences what takes place in the studio, even ordinary household tasks. I no longer paint fruit in glass bowls but I still look at every-day things as if I were planning a painting. Will I be able to mix that particular colour of the apple jelly or render the texture of bread? There’s the way late afternoon light hits the dining room table, making long shadow shapes on the floor, and I think about pattern. Every day I read for pleasure and information and walk with my dog, looking at colours and shapes and continue making imaginary paintings.  Music has always been a part of my life and many of the ideas behind my abstract paintings are related to musical theory, harmonics and rhythm. Travel in Europe has been influential. The stimulation of a different culture, the art and architecture, the music and theatre, meeting people and wandering the countryside raise my spirits.

What I was doing rather than what I was seeing

When my children were young it was difficult. I was too busy trying to be the perfect wife and mother. To keep my skills from getting rusty I did pastel portraits, mostly of children, and some commercial art.    I didn’t have a place to work so when I was introduced to acrylic paint I appreciated the quick clean-up  and  started doing still-life paintings and views inside and outside my home, first exhibiting locally and then in Toronto where for 10 years I had sold-out shows at a prestigious gallery. In the 1990s I made major changes in my life and work. The paintings became larger and more abstract, my technique developed and I began to think more about what I was doing rather than representing what I was seeing.  My exhibition of HORIZON PAINTINGS in 1995 at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia was a highlight and represented those changes.

Evolving from realism to abstraction

I like to think my work is developing.  Perhaps I don’t have an identifying style and it bothers me when I meet someone who asks, “Are you still painting flowers?”  But I’m not the same person I was 40 years ago and there are always new artistic challenges.  My work has evolved from realism to abstraction. However, I can still get excited about picking up my watercolours or oils and spending a couple of hours painting a landscape. Drawing is the foundation of all art-making and I have shelves of sketchbooks filled with pen and ink drawings.  The elements of art are essential to my practice and what I want to communicate in my work determines the tools and methods I use.

Acknowledging a debt while honouring the sacrifice

I’ve recently completed a series of 10 paintings based on the Italian campaign during the Second World War. Several years ago my husband and I spent time in the Liri Valley where significant battles took place involving Canadian soldiers. As a child of the war dead, Canada paid for my university tuition and  THE LIRI VALLEY PAINTINGS are a way of acknowledging that debt while honouring the sacrifice and memory of Canadian soldiers and the Italian people.

Using symbol and metaphor as tools of expression, I have appropriated images from Italian art history, regimental diaries, WWII archives and text from The Iliad. My sketchbook, camera and notes were essential tools.  The figurative, historical and narrative elements are painted realistically, a collage of images and events, and they move cinematically through the valley as Allied soldiers fought their way to liberate Rome in June 1944.

Getting rid of any work that isn’t a masterpiece

The Beaverbrook Art Gallery will host the exhibition of THE LIRI VALLEY PAINTINGS in February 2014, and an exhibition of abstract paintings and collages will open at Zwicker’s Art Gallery in Halifax, October 19.  Nothing’s planned beyond that. I’ll learn how to use my new camera and take better pictures, make friends with my computer; do more drawing on the Ipad, experiment with mixed media and make my paintings more sculptural. An artist friend in Toronto told me that he was getting rid of any work that wasn’t a masterpiece! It’s a great idea and after cleaning my studio I’m going to do the same thing.

See more of Nancy’s work on her Visual Arts Nova Scotia E-Studio Page: https://www.visualarts.ns.ca/artist-pages/e-nancy-stevens/