Nancy Rourke
Artist’s Statement
"My eyes are my 'ears' and my hands are my 'communicator.'
I paint from what I see."
Biography
| Hi, I'm Nancy Rourke. I am a full-time artist here in Loveland, Colorado. I was born deaf and raised in San Diego, California without knowing until I was six years old. I started painting at age seven and grew up doing paintings from rocks to canvases until I became more involved in the art world. I studied art at Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York and received a master’s degree in graphic design and painting. I was in the corporate world for the past sixteen years as a graphic designer for Xerox and IBM. Then I was a palette designer for classic black and white films featuring Casablanca, King Kong and other films for 20th Century Fox in California. And finally, I was a graphic designer at Microsoft Corporation until in 1994 I was laid off. I decided to be a full time painter in 1995. I have been painting ever since then. Currently, I am exhibiting and selling paintings across the country and in the galleries at the Denver’s most popular Santa Fe Art District. I am working on a series of paintings that focus on deaf culture, deafness, deaf history and audism. |
Curriculum Vitae 1978-2010
Awards, Honors and Grants
2010 Nancy Rourke has received the Puffin Foundation, LTD. Artist Grant. See info.
2010 Wells Fargo Ski Cup, Ski Up High poster print autograph, Winter Park, Colorado
2009 Panel discussion/Hands-on at Innovation & Creativity at Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY
2008 Heartland Arts Festival Southeast Nebraska Regional Program for the Deaf Students, Lincoln, Nebraska
2006 Juried Sweet-Art Show, Loveland, Colorado merit
2005 Celebrate America, Detroit, Michigan second
2005 Juried Sweet-Art Show, Loveland, Colorado second
2002 Regional Juried Show, Loveland, Colorado second
2002 Edmund Lyon Memorial Lectureship, Rochester, New York
Solo Exhibitions
2010 Nancy Rourke - The Expressionist Paintings Booth at DeafNation World Deaf Expo, Las Vegas, Nevada
2010 Featured Artist, Mandolin Cafe, Loveland, Colorado
2009 Featured Artist, D-PAN, Deaf Professional Artists Network online gallery
2009 SOLO of Nancy Rourke's Deaf History and Deaf Culture at Colorado Association of the Deaf, Loveland, CO
2009 SOLO of Nancy Rourke's Joie de Vivre 2 at Alliance Franchaise Denver in the Santa Fe Arts District, Denver
2008 SOLO of Nancy Rourke's Joie de Vivre at Access Gallery in the Santa Fe Arts District, Denver, CO
2007 SOLO of Nancy Rourke's work at Kalediscope Gallery #113 in Bassett, Nebraska
2007 Featured Artist, Studio 6 Coffeehouse at Nine10 Arts, in the Santa Fe Arts District, Denver, CO
2007 Artist of the Month, Barnes & Noble Bookstore, Loveland, Colorado
2006 Featured Artist, VSA arts Access Gallery in the Santa Fe Arts District, Denver, CO
2005 Featured Artist, VSA arts Access Gallery in the Santa Fe Arts District, Denver, CO
2004 Featured Artist, Lincoln Gallery, Loveland, Colorado
2004 Art Stroll, Loveland Museum and Gallery, Loveland, Colorado
2002 Honored Lecturer Exhibition, Dyer Arts Center, Rochester, New York
1985 MFA Thesis Exhibition, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, New York
Selected Group Exhibitions
2010 99 Pieces of Art on the Wall, VSA arts Access Gallery in the Santa Fe Arts District, Denver, CO
2010 Two Deaf Artists Show, 'On the Other Hand', VSA arts Access Gallery, Denver, Colorado
2010 Fellowship for The Foundation for Children in Need, Arlington Heights, Illinois
2009 Black Diamond Ball, Broncos Invesco Field Mile High, Denver, Colorado
2009 De'VIA Deaf Artists Show, National Center on Deafness, California State University of Northridge, Northridge, California
2009 Dove's Benefit Dinner, Coors Field, Denver, Colorado
2007 June Juried Show, Lincoln Gallery, Loveland, Colorado
2007 99 Pieces of Art, VSA arts Access Gallery in the Santa Fe Arts District, Denver, CO
2007 Art Students League Gallery, Denver, Colorado
2006, 2007 Two Deaf Artists Show, The Children's Hospital Gallery, Denver, Colorado
2005 Celebrate America Deaf Art, Holley Ear Institute, Detroit, Michigan
2005 Juried Sweet-Art Show, Lincoln Gallery, Loveland, Colorado
2002 Regional Juried Show, Lincoln Gallery, Loveland, Colorado
1986 Twelve Deaf Artists, Ankrum Gallery, Beverly Hills, California
1978 Deaf American Artists, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Selected Bibliography
Incompatible, Clercscar, Online Publication of the Signing Community, February 2010.
Meet the Artists- Nancy Rourke, D-PAN Deaf Professional Artists Network November, 2009.
Spotlight on Nancy Rourke, SIGNews by Raymond Luczak 2007.
RIT/NTID Deaf Art/Deaf Artists, Deaf Artist in Painting., February 2005.
Deaf Artist Colorado in Art Registry, VSA, Washington, D.C., December 2005.
Deaf Woman Artist Receives Lyons Lectureship, Deaf Rochester News, April/May 2002.
Rourke Named NTID Distinguished Lecturer, RIT News & Events, Vol. 34, No. 13. March 14, 2002.
Signs of Success, Loveland Daily Herald-Reporter, Focus, Section B, March 4, 2002.
Lectures
2009 Panel discussion at Denver Art Museum on "Universal Design" for the Disabled, Denver, Colorado
2009 Panel discussion/Hands-on at Innovation & Creativity at Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY
2008 Heartland Arts Festival Southeast Nebraska Regional Program for the Deaf Students, Lincoln, Nebraska
2008 Panel discussion at Colorado symposium "Art Works- a Conversation about Careers in the Art", Denver, CO
2002 Edmund Lyon Memorial Lectureship Award at Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, New York
Selected Commissions
2010 World Deaf Golf at St. Andrews, Scotland, 11x14inch dry pastels on bristol board for the World Deaf Golf Championships, St. Andrews, Scotland
2009 Ski Up High, 18inch by 24inch oil on canvas for the Wells Fargo Ski Cup and National Sports Center for the Disabled, Winter Park, Colorado
2007 City Park, Denver, 24inch by 30inch oil on canvas for Women's Vision Foundation, Denver, Colorado
Awards, Honors and Grants
2010 Nancy Rourke has received the Puffin Foundation, LTD. Artist Grant. See info.
2010 Wells Fargo Ski Cup, Ski Up High poster print autograph, Winter Park, Colorado
2009 Panel discussion/Hands-on at Innovation & Creativity at Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY
2008 Heartland Arts Festival Southeast Nebraska Regional Program for the Deaf Students, Lincoln, Nebraska
2006 Juried Sweet-Art Show, Loveland, Colorado merit
2005 Celebrate America, Detroit, Michigan second
2005 Juried Sweet-Art Show, Loveland, Colorado second
2002 Regional Juried Show, Loveland, Colorado second
2002 Edmund Lyon Memorial Lectureship, Rochester, New York
Solo Exhibitions
2010 Nancy Rourke - The Expressionist Paintings Booth at DeafNation World Deaf Expo, Las Vegas, Nevada
2010 Featured Artist, Mandolin Cafe, Loveland, Colorado
2009 Featured Artist, D-PAN, Deaf Professional Artists Network online gallery
2009 SOLO of Nancy Rourke's Deaf History and Deaf Culture at Colorado Association of the Deaf, Loveland, CO
2009 SOLO of Nancy Rourke's Joie de Vivre 2 at Alliance Franchaise Denver in the Santa Fe Arts District, Denver
2008 SOLO of Nancy Rourke's Joie de Vivre at Access Gallery in the Santa Fe Arts District, Denver, CO
2007 SOLO of Nancy Rourke's work at Kalediscope Gallery #113 in Bassett, Nebraska
2007 Featured Artist, Studio 6 Coffeehouse at Nine10 Arts, in the Santa Fe Arts District, Denver, CO
2007 Artist of the Month, Barnes & Noble Bookstore, Loveland, Colorado
2006 Featured Artist, VSA arts Access Gallery in the Santa Fe Arts District, Denver, CO
2005 Featured Artist, VSA arts Access Gallery in the Santa Fe Arts District, Denver, CO
2004 Featured Artist, Lincoln Gallery, Loveland, Colorado
2004 Art Stroll, Loveland Museum and Gallery, Loveland, Colorado
2002 Honored Lecturer Exhibition, Dyer Arts Center, Rochester, New York
1985 MFA Thesis Exhibition, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, New York
Selected Group Exhibitions
2010 99 Pieces of Art on the Wall, VSA arts Access Gallery in the Santa Fe Arts District, Denver, CO
2010 Two Deaf Artists Show, 'On the Other Hand', VSA arts Access Gallery, Denver, Colorado
2010 Fellowship for The Foundation for Children in Need, Arlington Heights, Illinois
2009 Black Diamond Ball, Broncos Invesco Field Mile High, Denver, Colorado
2009 De'VIA Deaf Artists Show, National Center on Deafness, California State University of Northridge, Northridge, California
2009 Dove's Benefit Dinner, Coors Field, Denver, Colorado
2007 June Juried Show, Lincoln Gallery, Loveland, Colorado
2007 99 Pieces of Art, VSA arts Access Gallery in the Santa Fe Arts District, Denver, CO
2007 Art Students League Gallery, Denver, Colorado
2006, 2007 Two Deaf Artists Show, The Children's Hospital Gallery, Denver, Colorado
2005 Celebrate America Deaf Art, Holley Ear Institute, Detroit, Michigan
2005 Juried Sweet-Art Show, Lincoln Gallery, Loveland, Colorado
2002 Regional Juried Show, Lincoln Gallery, Loveland, Colorado
1986 Twelve Deaf Artists, Ankrum Gallery, Beverly Hills, California
1978 Deaf American Artists, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Selected Bibliography
Incompatible, Clercscar, Online Publication of the Signing Community, February 2010.
Meet the Artists- Nancy Rourke, D-PAN Deaf Professional Artists Network November, 2009.
Spotlight on Nancy Rourke, SIGNews by Raymond Luczak 2007.
RIT/NTID Deaf Art/Deaf Artists, Deaf Artist in Painting., February 2005.
Deaf Artist Colorado in Art Registry, VSA, Washington, D.C., December 2005.
Deaf Woman Artist Receives Lyons Lectureship, Deaf Rochester News, April/May 2002.
Rourke Named NTID Distinguished Lecturer, RIT News & Events, Vol. 34, No. 13. March 14, 2002.
Signs of Success, Loveland Daily Herald-Reporter, Focus, Section B, March 4, 2002.
Lectures
2009 Panel discussion at Denver Art Museum on "Universal Design" for the Disabled, Denver, Colorado
2009 Panel discussion/Hands-on at Innovation & Creativity at Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY
2008 Heartland Arts Festival Southeast Nebraska Regional Program for the Deaf Students, Lincoln, Nebraska
2008 Panel discussion at Colorado symposium "Art Works- a Conversation about Careers in the Art", Denver, CO
2002 Edmund Lyon Memorial Lectureship Award at Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, New York
Selected Commissions
2010 World Deaf Golf at St. Andrews, Scotland, 11x14inch dry pastels on bristol board for the World Deaf Golf Championships, St. Andrews, Scotland
2009 Ski Up High, 18inch by 24inch oil on canvas for the Wells Fargo Ski Cup and National Sports Center for the Disabled, Winter Park, Colorado
2007 City Park, Denver, 24inch by 30inch oil on canvas for Women's Vision Foundation, Denver, Colorado
Permanent and Private Collections
Wells Fargo Bank, Denver, Colorado see painting.
National Sports Center for the Disabled, Denver, Colorado
The Children's Hospital, Denver, Colorado
Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, New York, see painting.
Saint John the Evangelist, Loveland, Colorado
American School for the Deaf, West Hartford, Connecticut
Memberships
Fine Art America, online Art Gallery
VSA arts, Access Gallery in the Santa Fe Arts District, Denver, Colorado
VSA arts, Artists Registry, Washington, D.C.
Artbreak, online Art Gallery
Nancy Rourke paintings copyright.
Last updated: July 26. 2010
Last updated: July 26. 2010