Nancy Depew has been devoted to representational painting and drawing since early childhood, but began her formal education in painting at Lycoming College in Williamsport, PA where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1977.
Her desire to pursue the figurative work she had begun, led her to graduate studies at the University of Albany, The State University of New York and in 1985, she received a Master of Fine Arts in Painting. Known for her highly realized figurative paintings and drawings which combine traditional painting techniques with more contemporary approaches, Depew has been awarded painting fellowships from the Ludwig Vogelstein Foundation and twice from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Her paintings and drawings have been exhibited widely and are collected internationally. Her paintings are represented by Arcadia Contemporary in NYC, Haynes Galleries in Nashville, TN and Thomaston, Maine, and the Vault Gallery in Cambria, CA. She now lives and paints in her hometown of Plainfield, NJ.
Artist’s Statement: My earliest memories are of painting and drawing. I have always been drawn to art making as a process, where the experience of working leads to insight, revelation and discovery. The finished work documents the process. I start with subject matter that I connect with deeply. While focusing on the intuitive aspects of the subject, I look for a visual, rather than a verbal idea. I build the paint up slowly through many layers, allowing the true subject of the painting to materialize. I find the words that eventually become titles during the process of painting. In my most recent work, I mix traditional painting techniques with more contemporary approaches to create a highly realized, three-dimensionally believable image, but I am not interested in documenting reality. I use the figure, still life and landscape as a vehicle for a highly orchestrated exploration of a metaphysical terrain. I dig into the nature of experience.
www.depewstudio.com