Nancy Hamann is a watercolor and mixed media artist born in Santa Rosa, California.  Her career as a visual artist began in the theatre, where she was a Costume Director at South Coast Repertory in California, Yale Repertory, and the Huntington Theatre in Boston. She worked on five shows that moved from regional theatres to Broadway. In addition, she has been a costumer at Radio City Music Hall and the costume designer for major productions in Boston.

Although she was trained in costume rendering in college, Nancy didn’t start drawing and painting until 2018. She is self-taught, aided by numerous online tutorials.  She has been a member of the Newton Watercolor Society since 2021.

The influence of theatrical design is evident in Nancy’s work, where she explores light and color using watercolor and mixed media. She is strongly influenced by painters from the Modern movement including Cezanne and Kandinsky and is a strong admirer of the drawings and paintings of Andrew Wyeth. She finds inspiration everywhere, but especially in quotidian objects in her home and in the interiors of historic buildings.

Nancy grew up in California, then  attended Purdue University for two years before becoming a theatre major at California State University, Long Beach, where she obtained her BA. She earned an MFA in Costume Production at Boston University. She has taught various courses at the University level, including Costume Production, Textiles and Introductory Costuming at Yale University, Bridgewater State University and Boston University.

Nancy is a member of the Newton Watercolor Society and of the New England Watercolor Society. Check her website for more information and follow her on Instagram @nancyhamannart