Fran, Bill and Sammy

Breagh and Sammy

To view a gallery of my artwork, past and present, please visit my on-line gallery at www.artistnannie.com

Welcome to my About Me page.  I am a professional artist, residing with my husband and our Border Collies Sammy and Breagh in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina.  I paint in oils, acrylics and mixed media.  Lately, my primary interest has been mini art (ACEO's) and small format art, but I still create larger works primarily in oils. My subjects include country and mountain landscapes, lighthouses, animals/wildlife, birds, butterflies, children/people, still life, seascapes, angels, country cottages, Border Collies, wolves and fantasy. I love to paint a captivating landscape and add a suitable animal or bird to complete the theme. Most of my paintings are originals; however, due to many requests for prints this past year, I now offer art card (ACEO) size (2.5" x 3.5") as well as 5" x 7" prints.  Some of my prints are matted to fit standard 5 x 7 and 8 x 10 frames.   Each original painting or print will come with a Certificate of Authenticity, signed and dated.  

I am basically a self-taught artist.  I have always loved decorative painting but after taking an oil painting class I was hooked and since have devoted my time to painting subjects on canvas, masonite or matboard.  Over the years I have attended seminars taught by well known landscape, seascape and wildlife artists in Tennessee, North Carolina and Florida as well as studying the works of noted landscape artists with my style gradually evolving into realism and some impressionism at times, with attention to details and natural colors in the landscape.   At this time I have completed over 400 original paintings in oil and/or acrylic. 

I was born in Miami, Florida, loved sports and leaned to play and competed in amateur Jai-Alai at an early age, winning the amateur singles championship.  I spent many hours outdoors exploring the beauties of nature and the ocean.  After moving to the mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina, the change of seasons with the beautiful autumns and spring times helped stimulate my creative nature more toward my love of art and full time painting.  Although I paint various subjects, my interest lies mainly in country landscapes and lighthouses.  My recent paintings have included Border Collies in a landscape setting using our Border Collies, Misty (now deceased), Sammy and Breagh as models. 

My paintings are currently exhibited at Rutherford County Artists Gallery in Rutherfordton, North Carolina as well as other local area sites.  I am an award winning, internationally collected artist and my paintings/prints also hang in private collections in most of the 50 United States as well as Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Italy and The United Kingdom.  One of my collectors paid a sincere compliment by remarking that she had hung my paintings in her home to replace those of an internationally acclaimed artist. 

I am a member of the Lake Lure Artists in Lake Lure, North Carolina, Rutherford County Visual Artist's Guild and several eBay art groups including ACEO (Art Cards, Editions and Originals), SFA (Small Format Art), CDHM (Custom Dolls, Houses, & Minatures), CaaT (Complementary Art and Things, NFAC (Nibblefest Art Contest), K9art (Dog Art Show) and ALA (Animal Loving Artists).

ENDANGERED SPECIES ACEO QUILT PROJECT

I am proud to be a contributing artist in the ACEO Endangered Species Quilt (shown below).  My artwork for this project is the "American Bald Eagle" which is shown in the middle of the bottom row of the quilt and also third from the top on the left hand side next to the quilt.  There are 36 ACEO artists on eBay whose artwork contributed to the making of this quilt, to be auctioned on eBay starting November 25, 2008 and ending December 5, 2008. 

RECENT ART AWARDS

ACEO Year's Best Art 2008 - Landscape Finalist

----------------------------------------------------------------

NIBBLEFEST ART CONTEST

*****************************************************************************

**************************************************************************

SMALL FORMAT ART (SFA) THEME WEEK AWARDS

SFA (Small Format Art) Theme week 1st October 2006 winner:
Theme: Dollhouse (October is national dollhouse month) - this is 'dollhouse-size'

CONGRATULATIONS:  artistnannie

. . . . CONGRATULATIONS!! Super work.

 *******************************************************************

Theme week 1st-7th November 2006 winner:
Theme: "Frosty"

CONGRATULATIONS:
artistnannie

. . . . CONGRATULATIONS!! Special Mention, as also 2nd and third! (2nd was higher finish price but less unique bids)

 **************************************************************************

Theme week 1st-7th December 2006 winner:
Theme: "Magic"

CONGRATULATIONS:
artistnannie

 . . . . CONGRATULATIONS!!

 **************************************************************************

"ZODIAC" THEME: Congratulations August (2007) Theme Week Winner! "Libra Universe" by artistnannie

"BLUE" Theme: Congratulations April 16-30 Theme Winner!
"Pemaquid Point Dawn" (2.5x3.5")by artistnannie

 

                            *******************************************************************************************************************

ALA (Animal Loving Artists)

*************************************************************************************************** 

K9art Dog Art Show - July 2007

*************************************************************************************

K9art Dog Art Show - September 2007

 Tie For Most Sales - "Next Year" by artistnannie

**************************************************************************************

CaaT (Complementary Art and Things) Theme Week Winner Trophies February 2007

*****************************************************************************

CaaT (Complementary Art and Things) Theme Week Winner Trophies April and May 2007 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CaaT - MOST ENTRIES - MAY 07 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CaaT SPIRIT AWARD - June 2007

Artist's Statement:  My original oil paintings depict the country landscape and seascape in places where I have lived and visited, read stories about, imagined as well as pictures I have viewed of places I would like to visit.  I love to paint a beautiful landscape, then add a suitable animal or bird to complete the theme.  As an artist, I strive to create a work that will give a positive visual emotion to uplift the mind and soul, to recall a happy memory or provide a pleasant visual experience.  Thank-you for taking the time to look at my artwork.  Terms and Conditions:  EBay now accepts only PayPal payments. Please contact me within 3 days after the close of auction, payment expected within 5 day.  If I have not heard from the winning bidder within seven (7) days, a Non-Paying Bidder (NPB) report will be filed with e-Bay and the painting will be relisted after the NPB has been completed.  Store Ship To Locations:  United States, Canada, Great Britain and Australia only at this time.  I will ship as soon as possible after payment has cleared and I will e-mail you the tracking information.  Shipping & Handling:  If you are not completely happy with an original painting, you will be given a refund (less S/H costs), provided the piece is in its original condition. The refund will be issued after the item is returned.  Although the listing may offer free shipping, if it is returned, the amount I paid for shipping will also be deducted. The piece should be returned via Priority Mail, Insured, in the original packaging if possible. If the piece is returned damaged, no refund will be issued. If you sent the piece insured, you may collect a refund from the USPS or other shipping agency. Please note the insurance terms in each listing. An insurance claim can only be made if insurance was purchased at the time of the sale. If lost or delivered in damaged condition, you will need to file a claim with the post office since the proof is with you that the piece is damaged or lost. You can fill out the form to have the refund going directly to you, in which case, I do not issue a refund and you will need to collect the refund from the post office. I usually ship USPS Parcel Post or Priority Mail with Delivery Confirmation or UPS or Fed-Ex on very large paintings.  Art cards (ACEO) are mailed in a clear acid free sleeve and rigid toploader, in a bubble envelope via USPS First Class Mail.  Care of Original Oil Paintings:  My paintings have been created with professional grade oils and/or acrylics on archival stretched canvas, gallery wrap canvas, canvas panels, mat board (art cards) and occasionally masonite panels.  They have been sprayed with a protective coating of retouch varnish.  A  coat of final varnish may be applied six months to a year after completion of the painting to allow the oils to dry completely.  You can dust them but do not use cleaner or solvents.  It is recommended that paintings be hung out of direct sunlight and avoid areas with exposure to high moisture or heat (such as bathrooms).  I often sell paintings that are unframed.  In that case, I paint the sides with a continuation of the image or a coordinating color if it is a gallery wrap canvas.  Since there are staples on the sides of regular stretched canvas, the sides are not usually painted.  You can frame the piece, however, please be aware that original oil paintings should never be framed under glass as the paint needs to breathe.  When paintings are framed, I use Barklips or offset clips to hold the stretched canvas in the frame.  This makes removal easy if another frame should be desired.  Canvas panels and art cards should fit easily into a standard frame since the board is not as thick as a stretched canvas.  You may wish to display canvas panel and art card mini paintings on a miniature easel. Limited Edition Art Card Prints:  Limited edition ACEO prints come in an acid free sleeve and rigid toploader.  The edition size is 25 and the prints are numbered 1/25, etc.  The number is on the back with a Certificate of Authenticity, dated and hand-signed.  Limited Edition Matted Prints: The limited edition print comes to you in an acid-free mat, signed, numbered and ready to frame.  A Certificate of Authenticity and Artist Bio is included.  The print is adhered to an acid-free backer board with acid-free artist's tape and hinged to the mat, thus making it easy to use another mat if so desired.  The print has been digitally reproduced (using HP archival inks rated to last up to 108 years) from  a photograph of an original painting onto acid/lignin free fine art paper and sprayed lightly with a UV archival spray for added protection.  I make my prints with white borders to protect the image from damage when handling and allow framers to "bite" into a minimal area of the image.  Care of Prints:  Frame the print behind glass or acrylic plastic to avoid damage to the surface.  The most important tip to protect the color prints is to request UV glass when having them framed.  This will keep color prints that are in direct sunlight or exposed to bright lights from fading over time.  It is best to avoid direct sunlight when possible.  Avoid hanging in high humidity areas or above a heat source.  Use an acid free mat so the print does not directly touch the glass.  With proper care, your print will last many years.  If you have any questions regarding the above, you may contact me through eBay mail or my website.    Ownership Rights:  All my work is copyrighted and may not be downloaded, copied or otherwise reproduced in any form without written permission from me.   All rights remain with the artist.  On sold works, the artist reserves the right to use the image of the painting, including reproductions, inclusion on websites and promotional materials, and to paint similar subjects.