Nancy Raufman
How many years have I considered myself an artist?
I was always interested in art... But it was sometime later in life that I got serious. Serious enough to devote time every day to drawing, painting etc.
I’m constantly inspired to create on paper or canvas, the things that inspire me. And anything is fair game. The kitchen sink is as important as a bouquet of flowers. Subject matter is irrelevant.
When I look at a tractor, I don’t necessarily see a John Deere of a Farmall, I see shapes and space and light and colors. I grew up on a farm here just outside of Janesville, So I’m influenced by Wisconsin and how beautiful it is in all seasons. The barns, fields, sunsets, storms, snow in winter and flowers in summer.
Here’s a photo of me standing on Dad’s tractor. I recently finished Dad’s tractor #2 a much larger version, looser, more colorful and reminiscent of those halcyon days. We’re pictured here at Bodacious restaurant. And as you can see many years have passed. At 81 years, I find I don’t have enough time in the day to do everything I want to do.
My studio is in my home, one room is devoted to painting and also working on the computer, I work as a volunteer Editor and put together a monthly newsletter for ATRA, Airedale Terrier Rescue and Adoption which covers 13 states and Ontario Canada. Using Indesign Suite of software, and continuous emails from members in all those states. So it’s usually a mess, I find I can’t do everything, so cooking and being in the kitchen are on the bottom of my priorities. So the Studio is a mess, but the rest of the house is tidy and organized.
The perfect day for me is when the sun is shining full blast. I love all my windows that bring in the south- ern sunshine.
I studied at the University as well as with Martha Hayden for many years. I’m inspired by the words of past artists: Van Gogh “exaggerate the essential and simplify the obvious.” Cezanne “Two things matter to a paint- er: his eye and his mind.” Matisse - called the painter of painters, his paintings have an unfinished quality, which is an integral component of his work. When we were painting with Martha, she would some- times look at our paintings and say “STOP”.
Exhibitions and Awards
36th Annual Tallman Festival, Janesville, Wisconsin, August 1992 Purchase Award
37th Annual Tallman Festival, Janesville, Wisconsin, August 1993 Purchase Award
Janesville Art League Best of Show Bergstrom-Mahler Museum, Arts Festival, Neena, Wisconsin, July 1994
2nd Place 39th Annual Tallman Festival, Janesville, Wisconsin, August 1995
First Place - Oil and Acrylic Painting 25th Annual Hononegah Fine Arts Fair, Rockton, Illinois, August 1995
Best of Show Picture This Gallery, Tomah, Wisconsin, October 1995
Solo Show Janesville Art League Christmas Show, December 1995
Best of Show New Visions Gallery, Marshfield, Wisconsin
10th Annual National Exhibition of "Culture and Agriculture" Winnebagoland Art Fair, Oshkosh, June 1996
First Place, Acrylic Painting Spring Green Arts and Crafts Fair, Spring Green, Wisconsin, June 1996
First Place, Painting Kenosha Public Museum, Kenosha, Wisconsin, July 1996
Honorable Mention Janesville Art League Christmas Show, December 1996
Best of Show Hedberg Public Library, Janesville, Wisconsin, December 1996
Solo Show Janesville Art League, Christmas Show, December 1997
First Place, Acrylic Painting Second Place, Acrylic Painting Janesville Art League, Christmas Show, December 1998
First Place, Acrylic Painting Janesville Country Club, December 1998, January 1999 Solo Show Exhibition
