"Let Nature Sustain"


Nina Jerome Paintings at Elizabeth Moss Gallery      June 1- July 8, 2017

   "Fish Point in Fog", 16x20, oil, 2016   

I listen to radio while I paint in the studio. I have covered my drawing table with phrases, book and song titles, authors' and composers' names, travel tips, and other items of interest. At some point during the last year I jotted down the linked phrases “let nature sustain” and George Sand. What I remember from the radio discussion is that Sand’s last words to her family were “laissez verdure”.  One translation of the phrase is “leave the green” and the other that I prefer is “let nature sustain”. I responded to this story, first, because I was so impressed by Sand's profound statement as she lay dying, and second, because the phrase seemed to relate directly to me, my work, and my interests. 


"Lagoon at Loon Point", 18x24, oil, 2016 - center

I am inspired by observation of the land, by structures of things that grow and create layers along the earth’s surface. I like intimate, distant, and aerial spaces and am interested in how humans shape their space, “leave the green”, and are inspired by their surroundings. Experiencing, observing, and responding to nature by drawing and painting renews my spirit. The act itself, the process of observing and responding, revising, and completing makes me feel like a witness to both life and the nature around me. As a result I feel more human by documenting my surroundings and sharing my responses with others through my painting and drawing.


"Backshore, Painting from Drawing #1", and "Back Shore Improvisation"

“Let Nature Sustain” is the title of my current show of paintings from Great Cranberry Island at Elizabeth Moss Gallery in Falmouth. The phrase found its way from my drawing table to my paintings as I recognized its importance to my work. I thank George Sand for the phrase and I am very grateful to the Heliker-LaHotan Foundation for the opportunity to live and work on Great Cranberry Island for the month of September. Waking up every day with the knowledge that I had an entire island at my disposal provided both geographical limits and infinite inspiration. My month-long immersion was a continual focus on plein air painting and drawing that led to many new paintings in the studio.

   
Great Cranberry Island landscapes at Elizabeth Moss Gallery


"Fish Point, Incoming Tide, ", 24x24, oil, 2016


"Bickford Afternoon", "Blowdown", and "Twilight"

"Backshore Improvisation",  "Morning Light from the Studio", "Beach at Long Point, Low Tide"


"Bickford Point Afternoon", and "Blowdown, Long Point"


"Late Afternoon, Toward Acadia", 24x24, oil, 2016


"Fish Point from the Window" and "Morning at Old Cove"

To see individual paintings, please visit gallery website https://www.elizabethmossgalleries.com/letnaturesustain