Open Studios of Roanoke - Nan Mahone Wellborn

Throughout my life, I've enjoyed interpreting nature and color in paint whether on paper, fabric or canvas. My current work is a response to feelings and moods the constantly changing light creates in the landscape. I want to connect you with an evocative experience. I want you to feel as if you're in that place, at that time to give you a heightened sense of the warmth, smells, textures, colors and atmosphere, I find in nature.

My oil painting continues to be influenced by Piet Mondrian's early landscapes, Pierre Bonnard, Nell Blaine, Fairfield Porter and the Canadian artists known as the Group of Seven.

Nan Mahone Wellborn is landscape painter whose home base is in the Blue Ridge mountains of Virginia. Primarily she paints out of doors, "plein air". When the weather isn't friendly, she seeks out a window view or a still life. Observation is at the root of her work. She combines painting with her travels south through Virginia, to the marshes of South Carolina, the Florida Keys, and as far as the fields of Provence, France.

Nan's paintings are driven by an emotional and expressive interpretation of her interest in a sense of place. Her style captures the immediacy of the moment. She strives for tension between classic themes based in reality and brought to life with a modern sense of color.

When Nan was growing up, painting her mother's expertly designed flower arrangements was a sure means to keep her busy. These early artistic efforts fostered in her an interest in the observational painting of nature and colourful landscapes as they are affected by light. Her mother's artistic support as well as that of her husband, Bill, along with the guidance of local artists and the company of good friends continues to enhance her work. Nan's work can be found in public and private collections up and down the East Coast.