Artist, educator, conservationist
Nance McManus
Nance McManus is passionate about everything she does. She doesn’t waste time, and she’s not afraid to try anything new. As a perpetual student of life and a keen observer of her surroundings, Nance is a perfect choice to bring out the artist in you.
Nance and Sid’s toucanet, Bijou, admires his favorite of Nance’s portraits. |
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Nance nudges her students to be open-minded to the medium and to explore it. She persuades them to “make a mess!” and to see what pastels can do before they decide if they like the medium. “I work with each person to find out why they are in the class and what they are into,” says Nance. Her class takes two sessions, with a full day on Saturday, to allow enough time to become familiar with pastels and get a feel for working with them, yet without a huge time commitment for the student.
This keen observer notes, “Grownups have a fear of wasting time and money. They’re almost afraid to do anything wrong.” Yet, as Nance points out to her classes, “The only mistake a person can make is not painting.”
“All art requires training,” says Nance. “You have to build muscles and movement and feelings. You have to train to be a good artist.”
Nance imbues her passion for art with her understanding of engineering. She has an interesting take on the process: “Art has immutable law. It’s all problem solving.”
About Nance
Nance has been painting for as long as she can remember. Her mother, who was also an artist and painter, told Nance early on that she would never make a living as an artist and that she would have to find something else to make money. Nance took this advice to heart, became an engineer, and worked for years in the entertainment industry. All the while, she never let go of her painting and perfected her art. “I like to think of Leonardo Da Vinci as my mentor,” says Nance. “He was an engineer and an artist.”
Nance and her husband and partner Sid Price are the founders of Avian Ambassadors, an educational project that uses birds of prey in high production value shows to deliver a powerful conservation message.
They offer training, equipment and software for others to establish their own branch of Avian Ambassadors worldwide.
Nance teaches:
| Pastels are Paint ... Not Chalk |
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Teach a class with us
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Turn in a course proposal. (PDF file to download, instructions on the file.)
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Contact
For information call 277-6320 or email ddel@unm.edu
