Nancy Halbert

This body of work reflects a time of healing. Getting through tough times with family on my side. Listening to my body, limited in time to paint each day, passing my studio in hopes that today will be the day a painting emerges as I persevere through pain and hope. Line, Color, Form, deepen the experience as I develop an honest representation of life experiences. It’s easy to tell a tale through paint, it is up to the viewer to ask questions and to view the paintings through their own stories.
I learned to draw and paint after a successful career as a a choreographer, modern dancer and arts administrator. 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 develop paintings of motion to evoke emotion. I enjoy working in dry and wet media. I experiment with mixing materials, fabrics and color to create painted collages of varying surfaces as I draw into paint. I paint 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, visual experience.
I have had an extensive career teaching art to students of all levels and ages in the Philadelphia area. My teaching is an integral part of my art making process. I empower my students to create in their own personal style. I never stop growing as an artist by listening to others, studying art history and staying informed about today’s art world. I also paint commissions in landscape or the figure that meet the needs of a specific site and the client’s taste. I am available for workshops, lectures and private lessons, currently on zoom.