About Nancy

Nancy Stein was born in Portland, Oregon and studied at the University of Maryland, L'Ecole des Beaux Arts in Strasbourg, France, and CCAC in Oakland. She received a BFA in Printmaking at CCAC, and an MFA from San Francisco State in 1985. Nancy has lived in Pt. Reyes since 1975. She has worked for many years as a garden designer in the area, as well as maintaining an active art career, and building her own home on forested Inverness Ridge.

Nancy has explored the subject of ocean waves in oil painting, pastels and etchings since 2000. Pastel is a rich, soft medium, very immediate and colorful, but one of a kind. These works are usually large and dramatic. Etchings are laborious to make, taking much time to etch grooves into a copper plate. When the plate is finished, Nancy prints it by hand on a small etching press in her studio. Editions of 60 prints can be made, which makes the etching much less costly, and therefore, available to more people.

Living in Point Reyes provides constant inspiration for her work.

"Every single day is a surprise - the weather and the unpredictable patterns of light and fog are wonderfully elusive. The mercurial weather is a backdrop to a community rich in wildlife, ocean and bay, forests, as well as ranches, livestock, vineyards, and a history of immigrants and Miwok Indians. My images intend to evoke a sense of time and transformation as viewed through the human lens of a brief life.  Each wave in the ocean is unique and draws us completely into it's expression. Since the camera lens fails to capture the depth of this experience, I am exploring what is missing -- the movement, the effect of wind and temperature, the transparency .....all of these elements are what makes the landscape something more than what we see, and speaks to the experience of the human heart."

Education

BFA California College of The Arts , Oakland, Ca. 1975
MFA San Francisco State Univ. San Francisco 1985
Attended l’universite a Strasbourg, France 1970
Member of California Society of Printmakers
Guest Artist, Talking Press Studio, Inverness, California, 2001-2005
 

Awards

Sanchez Art Center, Best of Printmakers Show, 2004
Springfield Art Museum  $250 prize Printmaking Invitational, 2004
 

Curator

Bolinas Museum Group Show, Bolinas Museum Group Show,  “Printmakers, Ink” February 2-26 2006