About Us – Nan T Quintin

About THE ARTIST

Artist BIOGRAPHY

Nan is an award winning artist who grew up in Groton, Massachusetts. She received a B.A. in Fine Art with a minor in Art History at Framingham State University. She received a Certificate in Pre-press and Computer Graphics at Clark University.

Having grown up on a small farm in New England, many of Nan’s paintings reflect this area’s rural landscape. She has lived in Pepperell, Massachusetts for over 30 years, just three miles from her childhood home, where she often goes to paint “en plein air”. Nan has studied watercolor painting with Tony Couch, Nancy Russo, and Carlton Plummer; and oil painting with Christopher Volpe.

Nan designed and painted the "Historic Pepperell" mural in the Lawrence Library in Pepperell, MA; and is a member of the Pepperell Cultural Council, which is the local branch of the Massachusetts Cultural Council. She has served as an art judge at several local exhibits; and is a long-time member of the Chelmsford Art Society.

Nan is a Signature Member of the Rhode Island Watercolor Society, and the North East Watercolor Society.

Artist Statement

"Many of my paintings reflect the relationships between people and the things that surround them. In order to capture these relationships and perceptions, I paint buildings, vehicles and other items, as well as activities, typically without depicting the people themselves. I am fascinated with the Japanese concept of wabi-sabi, briefly described as “transient, incomplete, imperfect beauty”.

I find belongings left behind - items once loved and now abandoned, and falling away in varying degrees of gracefulness as they return to earth - to be poetic and expressive. Vacant houses arouse my curiosity. Pondering the secrets of an old house, such as the events leading up to the abandonment, the identities and personalities of the occupants, the dreams, the builder, and the history of the property, is like solving a mystery. An abandoned house is not empty; its life-force remains. Typically, while I paint, I make up stories about my subject, imagining the answers.

Although many of my paintings are scenes of nature that capture the beauty of New England, the area in which I have always lived, many of my paintings contain man-made items as well. Not only are we humans part of nature, but we can and do live harmoniously with our environment and are part of its presence.

In addition to the influences of the natural world, I am captivated by dichotomies such as interior and exterior, light and dark, reality and dreams, and past and present. Windows and doors frequently appear as symbolic devices, they pique the imagination of the viewer as they let some people or things in while keeping others out. I often try to portray the idea that what is not seen may be more important than what is seen. The viewer’s imagination is needed to complete the picture.”

Awards

"3-Way Valves, USS Albacore" was awarded First Place at the Chelmsford Art Society 4th of July Exhibit; and Honorable Mention at the Rhode Island Watercolor Society National Exhibit

Best of Show. Westford Regional Art Event, annual exhibit. Westford MA

Honorable Mention. Watercolor Painting. National Exhibit at Rhode Island Watercolor Society. Pawtucket, RI (2019 & 2023)

First Place. Watercolor Painting. Chelmsford Art Society, 4th of July Festival. Chelmsford, MA

First Place. Acrylic Painting. Chelmsford Art Society, 4th of July Festival. Chelmsford, MA

First Place. Painting. Chelmsford Art Society, 4th of July Festival. Chelmsford, MA

First Place. Mixed Media. Chelmsford Art Society, 4th of July Festival. Chelmsford, MA

First Place. Painting. Chelmsford Art Society, 4th of July Festival. Chelmsford, MA

Third Place. Painting. Chelmsford Art Society, 4th of July Festival. Chelmsford, MA

Honorable Mention. Painting. Westford Regional Art Exhibit, Westford, MA

Third Place. Painting. Chelmsford Art Society, 4th of July Festival. Chelmsford, MA

Most Popular Vote. Painting. Hudson Rotary Club Art Exhibit, Hudson, NH

First Place. Painting. Chelmsford Art Society, 4th of July Festival. Chelmsford, MA

Second Place. Painting. Chelmsford Art Society, 4th of July Festival. Chelmsford, MA

First Place. Painting. Westford Regional Art Exhibit, Westford, MA

Second Place. Painting. Chelmsford Art Society, 4th of July Festival. Chelmsford, MA

Honorable Mention. Painting. Westford Regional Art Exhibit, Westford, MA

Most Popular Vote. Ken's American Cafe, Littleton, MA

First Place. Painting. Westford Regional Art Exhibit, Westford, MA

Honorable Mention and purchase of two paintings. Graham Headache Center, Migraine Art Exhibit, Jamaica Plain, MA

First Place. Painting. Groton Bicentennial Art Exhibit. Groton, MA

Scholarship. Excellence in Art, Groton High School. Groton, MA

Exhibits

Academic Artists Association, Realism Exhibit, Vernon, CT

Art on Main, Westford, MA (Featured Guest Artist)

Arts League of Lowell, It's Primarily Secondary! Exhibit, Lowell MA

Attleboro Arts Museum, Attleboro, MA Flower & Nature Show

Beaver Brook, Annual Fall Art Show, Hollis, NH

Chelmsford Art Society, 4th of July Festival, Chelmsford, MA

Chelmsford Center for the Arts, Chelmsford, MA

Chelmsford Public Library, Chelmsford, MA

Chelmsford Town Offices, Chelmsford, MA (solo exhibit)

Del Bello Gallery, Miniature Art Exhibit, Toronto, ON

Design at 639 Gallery, Fitchburg, MA

Doty's Dinner, Chelmsford MA (solo exhibit)

Emerson Hospital, Concord MA (solo exhibit)

Epsom Public Library, Epsom, NH (solo exhibit)

Fitchburg Art Museum, Annual Regional Exhibit, Fitchburg, MA

Floral Arts Gallery, Westford, MA (ongoing exhibits, and solo exhibit)

Frame Depot, Milford, NH (rotating exhibits, and solo exhibit)

Gallery 10, Miniature Art Exhibit, Rockford, IL

Gallery 529, Littleton, MA (rotating exhibits)

Gallery One, Nashua, NH

Graham Headache Center, Migraine Art Exhibit, Jamaica Plain, MA

Greeley Park Art Festival, Nashua, NH

Grotonfest, Groton, MA

Groton Public Library, Faces Exhibit, Groton, MA

Hollis Fine Art Festival, Hollis, NH

Hudson Rotary Club Art Exhibit, Hudson, NH

Ken's American Cafe, Littleton, MA

Lawrence Library, Pepperell, MA (two solo exhibits)

Rhode Island Watercolor Society, Pawtucket, RI

Monadnock Area Artists Association, Exhibition, Jaffrey, NH

North East Watercolor Society, International Exhibition, Kent, CT

Open Studio, Groton, MA (solo exhibit)

Parish Center for the Arts, Westford MA (solo exhibit)

Parish Center for the Arts, Westford Regional Art Exhibit, Westford, MA

Picture Yourself!, Chelmsford, MA (featured artist)

Plymouth Center for the Arts, New England Watercolor Society National Exhibit

Septemberfest, Groton, MA

Summer Place, Chelmsford, MA (two solo exhibits)

Weston Nurseries, Chelmsford, MA (solo exhibit)

Whistler Museum, Lowell, MA (members juried exhibit)

First Place Watercolor Chelmsford Art Society