Nanci France-Vaz was born in Carroll Gardens Brooklyn. She graduated the School of Visual Arts with a BFA in 3d Computer Animation for Film and Special Effects. In 2002, against much negativity of family and friends regarding living her life as a traditional artist, she moved to NYC and pursued her true passion… classical painting! She started her studies with teachers and artists that she admired. She is grateful to these teachers that cultivated her techniques and skills: Dan Thompson, Michael Grimaldi, John Frederick Murray, Marvin Mattelson, Paul W. McCormack and Nelson Shanks.
The artist has developed her style to be what she considers an Imaginative Portrait/Figurative artist that fuses classical and contemporary realism. As a painter her greatest desire is to communicate humanity via the narrative. In a socially detached world, my hope is to draw the viewer in, like a cinematographer, by evoking the psychological moments of my subject. She has a strong foundation in classical realism, but loves contemporary subject matter and environments. Having studied Stanislavski Method Acting as well as a small dose of Meisner technique allows me a spiritual connection to express a mood and use originality of concepts and ideas. The film background and colleagues, I have in music, theater, and dance give me an opportunity to express their song, their moment creating, or a human condition based on experiences in their life. Every painting comes from a literary art form or words in a song or film. I hear it and then it happens, the image flashes before me and I hold on to that overwhelming emotion to produce the story on canvas.
Nanci’s awards include the Len G. Everett Memorial Award, International ARC Salon 2011, 2012, 2016, 2017 Portrait/Figurative finalist, Colonel George J. Morales Award, the John Collins Memorial Award, and 3rd place for Portrait Society of America Members Showcase Exhibition, Bold Brush FAV 15, and The Artists Choice Award for Gateway International Contest. Her group shows include Abend Gallery Miniature Exhibit, Women Painting Women, Principle Gallery, OPA National and Eastern Regional Eisele Gallery, Allied Artists of America Annual Exhibit to name a few. Nanci had 3 solo exhibits, one recently at Swains Gallery 2018. In 2014, her painting of Lloyd Price was accepted into the permanent collection of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Her commissioned paintings hang in private collections.
Publications include Abend Gallery Miniature Exhibit Catalog, PoetsArtists Family Edition, Arc Salon Catalog, Allied Artist of America Catalog, OPA Catalog, OPA article 2017 American Art Collector, Fine Art Connoisseur I Observe, International Artists Magazine PSOA, Front Cover and Poster for AAPL Grand National, Salmagundi Club.
* This statement has been provided directly by the artist in association to their 14th International ARC Salon entries. This content has not been edited for typos or grammatical errors and has not been vetted for accuracy.
