Illinois artist and art instructor Nancie King Mertz has been painting in pastel and oil throughout her life in art, creating paintings that span a range of subjects, lighting conditions, and palettes. A few years ago, after living many years in Chicago, she and her husband, Ron, moved to Rockford, Ill., trading a condo in the city for their “dream home,” and swapping a small workspace off the kitchen for a studio that offers light from three different directions. Her new setup allows her to maintain a framing business and also features a classroom space for workshops. We asked the artist to share some photos and tell us more about her art-making practice.

Tell us about your new space and how it accommodates painting, framing, and teaching.

In this historic home in Rockford, which is located about 80 miles northwest of Chicago, I’m able to have a studio just off the living room that offers light from the south, west, and north. It’s such a treat to create in this space with views of a wooded yard and wildlife. I’ve got room to keep a desk and computer, as well as a set of swinging panels that offer a large selection of frame options, from which I can assist clients in frame selection for their treasures. Framing has been my side gig for 45 years. We sold our gallery/frame shop in Chicago when we moved, and now I do the framing in a large room in our basement.

Our goal, when getting ready to make the move, was to find a home that would serve as a learning center, gallery, and frame shop. It has been a long-term dream of mine to have a space to provide immersive pastel and oil instruction. Before the move, my teaching schedule involved traveling every month, sometimes twice a month, and I was ready for a change. Although I continue to do some travel-teaching, my husband and I host four to six workshops here at home. In nice weather, we work en plein air, but in winter months, we host 10 to 12 students at a time who can work in my studio and throughout our home. We’ve hosted painters from across the U.S., and Canada, as well as local students who come daily. With my husband’s assistance, we offer meals to all and can accommodate lodging for up to eight. We’ve been having a great time getting to know so many wonderful people this way.

What is important to you about your work environment?

It’s important to me to keep my spaces organized, to know where supplies and reference materials are. My studio and frame space are ready at all times to do what I need to do, and that’s the advice I give to my students: to strive for a clean, well-thought out area in which to create. If a daily designated space isn’t an option, I suggest collecting supplies in a bin so that setup is simplified when space to work is available. My complete plein air setup for pastels is always ready to go in the garage, so I can just load it into the car or into the overhead bin of a plane—and go!

Tell us a little about your regular art-making routine.

People often ask me whether I paint every day. I do paint whenever I can, but I also have to make time for marketing, framing, conducting online demos, community involvement, in-person teaching, and maintaining our home and yard. Ron and I work as a team, and we strive to keep the place “visitor-ready” at all times, as we’re open seven days a week by appointment for art and framing needs, and for historic tours of the house. 

Gallery of Artwork

About the Artist

Nancie King Mertz is a Master Pastelist in the Pastel Society of America and an Eminent Pastelist in the International Association of Pastel Societies. She has been a member of The Palette & Chisel of Fine Arts since 1988 and Plein Air Painters since 2003—two groups based in Chicago. In addition to her painting, she teaches numerous workshops in her home studio, and across the U.S. and abroad. Her work, which has appeared in numerous exhibitions, has earned many awards, and has been featured in a number of prestigious art publications.