Nancy Ness’ formative years were spent in a cookie cutter neighborhood of brick houses on Long Island, New York. Her addiction to making art appeared very early and was a concern for her parents. So concerned that they took her to a shrink at age five. To her parents relief the shrink declared, “She’s fine, she just likes to doodle.”

Growing up in New York, close to so many professional artists and great art museums was a gift. Her high school art teacher, an influential instructor, had paintings displayed in the permanent collection of the Brooklyn Museum. While in high school, this art teacher awarded Ness a scholarship to Pratt Institute for weekend art classes. 

Her unconventional life began after her first year of college at Visual Arts School in New York City. From there life took a number of turns including living in a treehouse in northern California to living on a sailboat on the north shore of Long Island.

For years, she was a perpetual art student until moving and matriculating into the University of Minnesota. Two years later, she transferred and moved back to NY to complete a BFA in Communications Arts from Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY. 

Having been a perpetual art student allowed Ness to be influenced by many wonderful art professors. One of her favorites was Pratt Instructor, Charles Goslin, an internationally recognized designer. He said “Resist that ever-present and mind-numbing pressure to con- form. What is familiar to us is reassuring and, ultimately, boring. If you try again and again, you will know the gratification of creating something as personal as your signature.” 

Developing a style which stays on the fine-line between a abstraction and recognizable subject has been her direction. She pushes color and creates marks that are less academic and more organic. This allows for “controlled happy accidents”. Her style is forever evolving but over time she has learned Goslin was right, finding her personal visual voice is way more important than following norms.

Another influence comes from working in the competitive field of graphic design in NY. For years, Ness worked as an art director. She won awards and designed for such clients as Jaguar, IBM, AAA, and many other well-known corporations. During her art direction years, she learned to stand apart by creating symbolically conceptual visual communications. This training helped her to create conceptual ways to view known subjects in her fine art. 

Studio space, much like her life jumped from place to place. Her studios included a rental railroad station to a sailboat. Her desire to paint developed a willing flexibility to work with many mediums in an effort to adjust to whatever space offered a place to work. Happily she now has an wonderful home studio.

Ness is a signature member of the Pastel Society of America (PSA), and American Women Artists (AWA). She is also a member of IAPS (International Association of Pastel Societies), North American Oil Painters (NOAPS) and American Impressionist Society (AIS). 

Over the years, Nancy has won international and national awards for her fine art. Along with these awards, she has been accepted into a number of international and national shows.

Many of her pieces have been collected by fellow artists. The enthusiasm of her fellow artists has led her to do a number of pastel and drawing workshops. Her mission has always been to live up to the highest level of her art potential and to encourage other artists to do the same