Nellenby Art is the art home of Nancy Boyle, a traditionally trained artist who explores a variety of mediums to express her visual ideas.
She grew up in Boston with the influence of family artists who studied and taught art in Boston.
Her landscape sketches and paintings are inspired by New England as well as her studies of Asian art history, time spent living in coastal Alaska, and travels to Europe and Israel. The landscapes seek to draw the viewer into an mood based on the landscape, and away from the troubles of the present.
The cubist influence comes from an interest in modern art including that of Braque and Picasso.
She lives in Wayland and has her art studio in the Zero Empty Spaces store in the Natick Mall, Massachusetts.
Education
BFA, Mass. College of Art & Design. Additional courses at DeCordova Museum in Lincoln; Danforth Arts, Kaji Aso Studio, Concord Art, Boston MFA, and numerous art mentors.
Statement
I believe the most successful art is an expression of the human spirit and our common humanity. It can inspire and lift us emotionally and intellectually. It may give us insight into ourselves and our world.
Affiliations
Co-founder of the W Gallery, past president, Arts Wayland, Mass.
History
I am fortunate to have strong art influences in my family. My mother graduated from Mass Art, and had a career in technical illustration as well as being accomplished in painting and drawing. My uncle Jack Clift taught at the Museum School, while my aunt Ruth Clift had a distinguished career in fashion illustration. Ancestor, Roland Forbes Libbey was a landscape painter in the 1800s.
The colors, patina on old buildings, sounds, culture, and winding streets of the many neighborhoods of the city of Boston has had a strong influence on my art. Visiting my father’s law office on Tremont Street I experienced the quaintness and quirkiness of Boston culture and streets that affected my later art style.
Spending summers on Cape Cod gave me a love of the beach landscape. I have since expanded that to include Florida where the turquoise waters and shapes of the palms as well as dramatic skys inspires me to paint there as often as I can.
The influence of impressionism was very strong in my early years as my family admired the French impressionists. John Singer Sargent was a strong influence as was Van Gogh and the post impressionists. My favorite painting for a long time was Van Gogh’s The Postman Roulin. I believe the bold colors, strong shapes, and use of black outline had an impact.
After Mass Art I began a series of illustrations of animal characters. Inspired by children’s books; cartoonists of the 19th century; animated cartoons, and my own experiences with a large family of interesting characters around the Boston area.
Since then, I’ve raised a family and had a career in graphic design, illustration, web design, including working with software developers on web application UI design.
In recent years I am able to focus on painting full time. Landscape plein air painting has been a strong interest in the past few years. I love the challenge of working so immediately on a subject that is dynamic and changing. And the outdoors and comradery of local groups of painters keeps things fresh and interesting.
I work in a variety of media: oils, acrylic, mono-printing, and watercolor.
Thank you for visiting my site.