Illuminations: Paintings by Nancy Natow-Cassidy

EXHIBIT

Friday, August 8th – Sunday, September 7th

Opening Reception:

Friday, August 8th | 5PM – 7PM

Immerse yourself in the dynamic, colorful paintings of Beverly Shores artist, Nancy Natow-Cassidy.

“I dance the energy I feel emanating up from the earth. I dance the shapes of twisting trees, my arms becoming their branches, my torso becoming their trunk, trying to inhabit and embody their energy. Back in my studio, I use my body, arms, hands and fingers to wield pigment in an act of translation of the awe I feel when I’m in nature.

My heart is drawn to experiencing and sharing the beauty and amazement of our natural world. My hope is that if we could all take some time each day to notice something beautiful, something we ALL can see, the world would be a better, more peaceful place.

Though my art appears abstract, to me it is taken from what I see and feel as I move through and experience our world.” – Nancy Natow-Cassidy

About the Artist:

I’m not sure when I began to notice how visually amazing our world is. Maybe it was as a kid learning to draw, seeing my pencil line on a blank piece of paper magically turn into a portrait. Maybe it was at Oxbow in Saugatuck Mi, where the corner of a worn wooden table caught my eye and I made a painting of it. Or maybe it was when I moved to Chicago in my twenties. Walking everywhere, noticing cracked sidewalks, mashups of wall posters, graffiti, and the fabulous variety of architectural styles jumbled together. Paying attention to shape, color and texture became my way of moving through the world. My eyes are constantly searching out and noticing wonderfulness.

A few years ago, moving to a small town bounded on three sides by a national park, and on the fourth, a Great Lake, has opened my horizons and changed my way of seeing, and my way of being. Instead of focusing on the million things to do in the city, and the what’s next and next and next, as I did in Chicago, I now find my heart drawn to quiet and space, more organic shapes and textures. And as always, color.

While my art is full of energetic mark making, it often starts with poured quiet areas on the canvas. It comes from both the kinetic energy I feel around me, and the inner quiet I feel when I’m outside in nature.  Especially in sunlight, I feel the energy of the universe coursing through me. Do I sense electrons and ultraviolet light? It seems that way to me. When I close my eyes in the sun, I see colors and patterns that, though fleeting, I try to set down in pigment. I stare for hours at water, watching intently as the glints of light reflect and refract, changing into beautiful prisms and rainbows of color. I’m transfixed by the ever-changing intricacies of color that make up our blue sky, green leaves, and brown sand.

The desert and rocks of Joshua Tree, holds the same boundless energy for me as Lake Michigan.  Climbing around in the wonderland of rocks makes me feel alive in a way that is a wonderment, and was the first time I’ve felt totally free as an artist.

I dance the energy I feel emanating up from the earth. I dance the shapes of twisting trees, my arms becoming their branches, my torso becoming their trunk, trying to inhabit and embody their energy. Back in my studio, I use my body, arms, hands and fingers to wield pigment in an act of translation of the awe I feel when I’m in nature.

My heart is drawn to experiencing and sharing the beauty and amazement of our natural world. My hope is that if we could all take some time each day to notice something beautiful, something we ALL can see, the world would be a better, more peaceful place.

Though my art appears abstract, to me it is taken from what I see and feel as I move through and experience our world.