I am a contemporary genre painter. I'm interested in the stories people and objects tell, as they relate to each other in their everyday way. I believe all the passions and problems of the living world can be read in the gestures of family members, in the tender or aggressive play of young children, and even in the way humble still-life objects lie on a cloth. I like to use the mundane to express the sublime. Teacups and apples may seem charged with the same emotions and motivations as people. When I paint I create a picture of stillness pregnant with impending movement: a moment held in suspension, inviting the viewer's contemplation.I always have an intimate connection with the subjects of my paintings. The people in the figurative pieces are all friends and family members. I like to use still-life objects (china or toys) that have been handed down, rich for me with layers of emotional resonance. I prefer to grow my own flowers and vegetables, whenever possible.
These fields from which I draw my subjects and themes may seem restrictive, but I've found it a rare blessing to be able to concentrate on and appreciate the small universe around me. William Blake put it," to see a World in a grain of sand". (Or in my case, perhaps, in a starlight mint.) My desire is to paint the humor, beauty and feeling of this world as simply as I can.
Nancy Bea Miller