Today we’d like to introduce you to Nancy Conant.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
I’ve always had a deep and abiding interested in art. When I moved to Texas from Southern California 12 years ago, God opened a door for me to train under an exquisite artist who mastered in oil and pastel. This would be my only “formal education” as an artist.
I received a devastating diagnosis two years earlier – I learned I had Multiple Sclerosis. MS progressed quickly and I went from being an active wife, business owner and mother of two, to becoming dependent on a wheelchair and loosing most function from the waist down.
As time went on, I would tell my husband that I couldn’t live with being a burden to my family. On Easter Sunday, 2009, I acted on that notion and overdosed on over 300 barbiturates. The following day I was found and revived. In the following weeks and months I wrote my story and my husband and I later co-authored Resurrection Monday – The True Story of a Death-to-Life Experience. Our story is raw and brutally honest and resonates with many who have struggled with a disability, chronic illness or even depression. We share many truths that we learned through our trials – the greatest of all being this: Not even death can hold you when God has a plan for your life.
Nearly ten years later I paint with proficiency and prolifically; we have shared out story globally to millions and we continue to share our story and artwork through our ministry, Restored Anew Ministries.
Please tell us about your art.
I’ve had no formal education. My love for art and for the subject I paint most of all, which are animals and people, runs deep. I mainly paint in pastel but have dabbled a bit with oil and have painted several murals in acrylic. Pastels made sense for me, as a mom with two young children being a medium that I could pick up and put down in a moment’s notice with no lengthy clean up or set up necessary. (I like to say, “Oil and kids don’t mix!”), With pastel, it was love at first painting! Furthermore, I love that pastel holds its luster and color for generations, and does not crack or fade with the passing of time. Making that the perfect medium for portraiture, which needs to be a long-last heirloom.
As an artist, how do you define success and what quality or characteristic do you feel is essential to success as an artist?
When measuring success, I ask myself three telling questions: Am I doing what I LOVE to do? Am I doing what the God of the Universe, who LOVES me, created me to do? Do the people who I share my work with LOVE the work?
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
My work is on display at Gidden’s Gallery of Fine Art in Grapevine, TX, located at 624 S. Main Street.
My web address is www.nancyconant.com and for those who would like to see our story continue to go forth, our ministry website is www.restoredanew.org, where one can make a tax-deductible contribution.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.nancyconant.com and www.restoredanew.org
- Phone: 818 262-7456
- Email: nancy@nancyconant.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nancyconantpaintedportraits
Image Credit:
photo 2 – Jeremiah Lamenting Over the Destruction of Jerusalem by Rembrandt
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