If Trees Could Dance Painting

"Boredom is foreign to Halbert's paintings-variation, not repetition, is her rule in dealing with the figure. Several of her finest subjects achieve an independent complexity in their rugged, hearty dignity." Victoria Donohoe, Philadelphia Inquirer, 4/22/11 I was a choreographer and modern dancer. It is the balance between energy and stillness that I focus on in my art. I reflect this discord in a gestural, painterly, and contemporary style. I paint motion to evoke emotion. Responding to each moment with spontaneity, I use a variety of media to create a raw, yet, luminous painting process of drawing into paint. I explore mixing drawing and paint medium on unprimed canvas. Fabrics and images may be integrated to provide a sense of place. I begin as I would when choreographing a dance, one element moving into the next. A line begins, takes shape into mass, which will deepen with color, and then culminates into an expressionistic, impressionistic experience. Nancy E. F. Halbert, a former dancer, choreographer, has a Masters in Art Education from the University of the Arts with a prior MFA in Dance from Temple University. Nancy was a fellowship participant of Vermont Studio Center's April, 2013. She is was a featured artist in Studio Visit Magazine, 2013. She will be showing in NYC Art Expo, 14. Her contemporary paintings have been juried into shows: Woodmere Art Museum Contemporary Art Show, 2009, 2012, Philadelphia, Betsy Meyer Memorial Show, Haverford, PA, Hospital of University of PA and The James Oliver Gallery. She has been a member of the artist cooperative MUSE Gallery in Philadelphia for seven years and a Professional Member of the Main Line Art Center, Haverford, PA. Her paintings are in collections in Australia and the US. She has taught painting, drawing and art history for over fifteen years to adults and children of all ages. A video of her process may be seen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRJTu7YWy