Interview
Nancy Byron
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Nancy Byron knew from an early age that she was an artist. The world felt intensely alive with color, texture, and emotion. Ordinary moments carried a vivid, almost spiritual beauty. Unable to ignore the flood of imagery and feeling that surrounded her, she began drawing and painting as a way to capture what she experienced internally and externally. Nancy, later earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Graphic Communication and built a successful career as a graphic artist and designer, owning and operating her own graphic design business for more than 35 years. Much of her professional work focused on the garment industry, where she created painted textile designs, packaging. and print graphics. While her commercial career sharpened her eye for composition, color, and visual storytelling, fine art remained a deeply personal and necessary form of expression. At age 49, Nancy fully embraced painting and discovered a renewed sense of purpose through fine art.
Her creative journey eventually led her back to school, where she earned a Master's degree in Mental Health Counseling with a specialization in art therapy. Her background in both art and healing continues to shape her work today. Nancy's art explores spirituality, transformation, resilience, feminine power, and the unseen emotional world beneath the surface. Working in painting, assemblage, and sculpture, she creates pieces rich in texture, symbolism, and vibrant color. Her work balances emotional intensity with light, grace, and transcendence. Today, Nancy continues to exhibit her work while expanding her presence through galleries, publications, art markets, and on line exhibitions. Her work invites viewers into a deeply personal yet universal experience of healing, mystery, and human connection.
What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?
“I started creating at a very early age, I never felt quite comfortable in my own skin and when I went into my world of art I could connect on a different level. It calmed me down and the anxiety lessened. My formal background began in graphic design. I earned a Bachelor's degree in Graphic Communication and spent more than three decades working professionally as a graphic artist and textile designer, primarily in the garment industry. This was a creative field but had its limitations on creativity because I had to accommodate what clients wanted, it was their vision, not mine. My true artistic journey began during one of the most difficult periods of my life. I struggled with addiction, and through the process of recovery I turned inward and began creating art as a way to rediscover myself. Art became far more than expression - it became healing. It helped me process pain, confront darkness, and reconnect with my spirit. Through texture, color, symbolism, and layered imagery, I found a way to transform suffering into something meaningful and divine. That experience ultimately led me back to school, where I earned a Master's degree in Mental Health Counseling with an emphasis in art therapy. My work today is deeply influenced by healing, spirituality, emotional transformation, feminine strength, and the unseen layers beneath human experience. Creating art helped save my soul, and that truth continues to guide everything I make.”
What inspires you?
“What inspires me is emotion in its rawest and most transformative form. I am deeply inspired by both my own emotional pain and the pain of others - the unseen struggles people carry beneath the surface. My work explores passion, intensity, chaos, healing, and the fragile beauty than can emerge from darkness. I am endlessly drawn to the ultimate beauty of women, both inward and outward - their strength, vulnerability, mystery, and resilience. I look beyond the facade and search for the deeper story hidden within each expression, texture, and layer. Vivid color, texture, and depth are essential parts of my language as an artist. I am inspired by flowers, horses, jewelry as an art form itself, ethereal angels, mystical beings, and the idea that alternate universes exist alongside our own. My work often feels spiritual and otherworldly, filled with icons and symbolism that provoke thought and insight. I create intuitively and am guided by a spiritual foundation that I cherish and want to share with the world. For me, art is not only visual, it is an invitation to the soul.”
What themes do you pursue? Is there an underlying message in your work?
“The themes I pursue are spirituality, transformation, resilience, feminine strength, and the emotional journey of healing. Much of my work explores the tension between darkness and light - the idea that beauty, wisdom, and rebirth can emerge from pain and loss. I am deeply inspired by mystical imagery, human emotion, texture, symbolism, and the unseen spiritual connection that exists within all of us. Women and ethereal beings often appear in my work as symbols of intuition, vulnerability, grace, and power. My assemblage pieces and paintings are layered intentionally, both physically and emotionally. I use texture, found materials, and vibrant color to create work that feels lived through rather than simply observed. There is often a sense of transformation in the pieces representing fragments becoming whole again. An underlying message in my work is hope and transcendence. I want viewers to feel that even through chaos, addiction, heartbreak, or uncertainty, there is still light and the possibility of renewal. My art invites people to pause and reflect to connect with something deeper within themselves.”
How would you describe your work?
“I would describe my work as emotionally driven mixed-media expressionism with spiritual and mystical undertones. My art combines painting, assemblage, texture, symbolism, and layered materials to create pieces that feel both raw and ethereal. I am drawn to contrasts - strength and vulnerability, darkness and light, chaos and serenity. Many of my works feature feminine figures, spiritual imagery, and abstract elements that reflect change, healing, and human emotion. Texture plays an important role in my process because I want the work to feel tactile and alive, almost as though each piece carries its own history and energy. My background in graphic design also influences my sense of composition, color, and layering. Ultimately, I create art that is intuitive, soulful, and profoundly personal. I hope that viewers find their own meaning and emotional connection within it.”
Which artists influence you most?
“The artists that influence me most are those who create from a deeply emotional and intuitive place. I have always been drawn to artists whose work carries both vulnerability and strength, and who are unafraid to explore the human spirit through texture, color, symbolism, and emotion. Frida Kahlo has been a major influence on me because of her fearless emotional honesty and the deep personal symbolism woven into her work. Her ability to transform pain into beauty and meaning resonates strongly with my own artistic journey. Claude Monet inspires me through his relationship with light, atmosphere, and color. Even though my work is stylistically different, I am deeply influenced by the emotional mood that light can create within a piece. Jackson Pollock inspires the freedom and emotional release found in the creative process itself. I connect with the spontaneity, layering, and physical energy that abstraction can carry. Mark Rothko's work has also influenced me through his use of color as emotion and spiritual experience. His paintings create an almost meditative atmosphere, which is something that I strive for in my own work. Auguste Rodin influences my sculptural and assemblage work through his expressive forms ad his ability to capture raw human emotion and movement. I am fascinated by art that feels alive and tactile. Other influences include Gustav Klimt for his ornamentation and icons, Anslem Kiefer for his textured mixed-media surfaces, and Louise Bourgeois for her emotional depth and exploration of memory, identity, and healing. Overall, I am most inspired by artists who create work that transcends technique and reaches something spiritual, emotional, and deeply human.”
What is your creative process like?
“My creative process is very intuitive and emotionally driven. I usually begin with a feeling, memory, spiritual impression, or emotional energy rather than a rigid plan. Sometimes inspiration comes from music, dreams, personal experiences, an image that I saw, or moments and thoughts in the present moment. I work in layers, both physically and emotionally. I often begin with paint and the background color of how I am feeling in the moment. I then add layers of texture, or abstract movement on the surface and allow the piece to evolve organically. From there, I incorporate assemblage elements, found materials, visual icons, jewelry, dried roses, whatever helps convey the feeling I am trying to communicate. I enjoy the unpredictability of the process and often allow the materials themselves to guide me. Color and texture are extremely important in my work because they create atmosphere and emotion. I am drawn to contrasts - softness and intensity, chaos and serenity, darkness and illumination. There is also a meditative and spiritual aspect to my process. Creating art feels healing to me, almost like a conversation between the subconscious and the physical world. I rarely force a piece, instead I allow it to reveal itself over time. Ultimately, my process is about transformation - taking fragments, emotions, and experiences and turning them into something meaningful, expressive and alive.”
What is an artist’s role in society and how do you see that evolving?
“I believe an artist's role in society is to reflect back to itself - to inspire, challenge, heal, question and create emotional connection. Art has the ability to communicate what words often cannot. I have personally witnessed this, as I am an art therapist specializing in trauma. Trauma is stored in the right brain hence creativity which is right brain oriented can access the events and process it at a much deeper level than talk therapy that accesses the left brain. I have experienced amazing, spiritual breakthroughs and art was the catalyst to provoke thought and offer comfort. Art brings people together through shared human experience. Artists help society slow down and feel. In a world that is increasingly fast, digital, and distracted, art reminds us of our humanity and imagination. I believe artists also have a responsibility to express truth authentically, even when it is uncomfortable or deeply personal. Through my work, I hope to create spaces where people process trauma, addiction, grief, and personal growth because it reaches beyond logic and speaks directly to the soul. The future of art, in my view, will continue to blur boundaries between disciplines, mediums, healing practices, and technology. While digital platforms and artificial intelligence are changing how art is created and shared, I believe there will be an even greater hunger for authentic human expression, imperfection, and emotional depth. Regardless of how tools evolve, the essence of art will remain the same - a deeply human need to connect, express, and transform experience into meaning.”
Have you had any noteworthy exhibitions you'd like to share?
“I have been fortunate to share my work through both exhibitions and published features that have helped my artistic journey and audience. I am currently a competitor in ‘The People's Artist presented by Johnny Depp.’ This competition helps promote artists and at the same time benefits The Art of Elysium - a non-profit using art for social and emotional healing. Recently one of my assemblage pieces was published in Artist Close Up Magazine, with an artist statement and description of the piece. I have also participated in exhibitions and public art events including the Melrose Trading Post and the Topanga Vintage Market, both in Los Angeles, California. I regularly exhibit and sell my work in an environment that connects artists directly with the community and collectors. In addition, I have a Solo Exhibition in the Goddess Arts Gallery - Nancy Byron - ‘Turning Survival into Sacred Art’ running 5/20/2026 - 7/5/2026. The collection focuses on Spiritual and Mystical Beings and The Ascension of Assemblage. I am currently continuing to expand my presence through on line galleries, including my portfolio on. Saatchi Art, where my collections of paintings, assemblage and sculptures are available to an international audience. I am especially excited about continuing to exhibit in spaces that blend fine art with emotional connection, healing, and community engagement as my work continues to evolve.”
