Workhouse Artist of the Week: Nancy Hannans

Nancy Hannans’ studio has everything a Workhouse artist wants for a home away from home. Her paintings carry you into a different world—a land of ethereal dreams and folk tales in a soothing pallet of golds and natural hues.

Nancy graduated from Boston University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts and taught art in Massachusetts. It was there that she met her husband, a Peace Corps volunteer with “Teacher Corps”. He inspired her to pursue her teaching certificate, and she currently teachers at Hayfield Secondary School as a Computer Design and art teacher. 

Nancy’s work is inspired by classical paintings of Renaissance masters, medieval art, African art and sculpture, Buddah and South American artwork. 

Nancy recently at down with Patch and told us about her craft. 

Patch: How were you first introduced to art?

Hannans: "I remember as a child drawing with chalk on our driveway, drawing really, really large pictures. I loved to draw women, or girls even back early on. I also used to love to write and illustrate. And I loved to read. I spent a lot of summers reading and playing with friends, but reading is what kind of took me out of the ordinary so to speak. It allowed me see all kinds of possibilities."

Patch: Did your parents recognize that you had talent as a child?

Hannans: "Yes, they definitely encouraged me, and they gave me art lessons. When I was in 6th grade I studied art with an artist in New Haven, Connecticut who was very much in the tradition of the Renaissance artists—a very realistic kind of painting. I think I received a good background."

Patch: When did you see artistic talent within yourself?

Hannans: "I’m not sure. I think I just loved to do it so much. When I went to college I knew I wanted to major in art. I was always writing too. So the writing and illustrating just continued as well." 

Patch: What is it like, being a both a teacher and studio artist?

Hannans: "It’s demanding, but I enjoy it. When I’m finished teaching I come here. It’s a whole different experience though. It’s nice to have both opportunities. A number of students have visited and taken classes here. I want them to experience as much art around them as they can."

Patch: How important is it for your students to have a classical background like your own?

Hannans: "I’m a big believer in the foundations. Learning how to draw, learning how to paint, learning the basics—and then from there springing off and maybe breaking a lot of rules. As a teacher I think there is a foundation for art. I know people come to it from different avenues and different perspectives, but I think that’s really the best way to learn about art."

Patch: Where does your inspiration come from?

Hannans: "I think they come from myths, folktales, stories, title of a song, or sometimes it’s just an image of a woman doing something that kind of percolates in my head. I like telling stories and presenting an image and then letting the viewer interpret them in the way that they want. I do find that people will come in from many different cultures and say it reminds them of Mexican folk art or Indian or Persian miniature. People will find something that is close to them in the work and I love that."

What do you think expressing yourself in paintings fulfills within you?

"I just feel like painting is part of who I am and what I do. I love telling stories. I love art from different cultures. When I began painting women, I wasn’t quite sure why—then as time went on I realized that the women represent a nobility to me, like a beauty. I call it the beauty of the human spirit."

Patch: What do you want people see in your artwork?

Hannans: "What’s amazing to me is that as an artist you kind of have the power to influence a lot of people and encourage and inspire people to question. To think about things they wouldn’t ordinarily think about. So I think maybe that privilege is almost an opportunity or a blessing to be able to influence and to touch people."

Nancy Hannans' paintings sell for $100 for small canvasses to $3,500 for her largest pieces. Early next year she'll show at Marymount University in Fredericksburg.