POCOMOKE CITY — On Saturday, Aug. 14 from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Delmarva Discovery Museum visitors are invited to watch wildlife artist Nash Clark work her magic with acrylic paints.
Nash has a …
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POCOMOKE CITY — On Saturday, Aug. 14 from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Delmarva Discovery Museum visitors are invited to watch wildlife artist Nash Clark work her magic with acrylic paints.
Nash has a wide variety of interests — archelogy, paleontology, history and wildlife — and her sense of fun and enthusiasm shines through her work. She will be painting while at the museum, located at 2 Market Street next to the Pocomoke River, and have a large selection of both prints and originals available for sale.
Regular admission will apply, $10 adults, $8 seniors, $5 children 4 and up, while military with ID and museum members are admitted free (visit DelmarvaDiscoveryCenter.org for more details).
Museum Executive Director Jennifer Merritt interviewed Nash July 22 and learned about her fascination with wildlife, which is the subject of most of her paintings.
Nash grew up in Pittsville, Wicomico County. As a child she would take her sketch pad to the zoo or local parks and sketch whatever she saw, including squirrels and trees. She continued to create art as an adult and during the lockdown of the coronavirus pandemic filled her home with colorful paintings.
When she was a child she dreamed of being successful enough to sell her work at events like Sunfest and Springfest in Ocean City, but since her work is not photorealistic she was concerned that it would not be popular. Now that she is successful as an artist, she hopes to inspire other children that may feel the same way. She also believes in using her art as a springboard for discussions on protecting wildlife and the environment.
“Working as a naturalist for the Pocomoke River State Park, wildlife conservation is a passion of mine and I hope to inspire others to take notice and help with wildlife conservation efforts in the future,” she said.
Nash’s success as a professional artist came as a surprise to her, and was a result of her boyfriend encouraging her to sell her work after she created a painting of a rooster for him as a gift. Her first art show was at Harpoon Hanna on a cold, windy day where she thought that she had likely invested her time for nothing. Instead, she took home $1,000. Like many artists, she still talks as though she is not convinced of the value of her own paintings, but she has many fans and commissions, including one of her favorite works, an octopus carrying a lantern covered in barnacles.
Nash is also fascinated by paleontology and said that she has not painted a dinosaur yet but it is on her list. In addition to paleontology she is interested in history, primarily due to her great-great-great grandfather’s participation as a Union soldier at Culp’s Hill in Gettysburg. He survived the battle and she has done a great deal of research into her family’s genealogy.
Nash paints on canvas with acrylic but does wooden cutouts too, including a detailed blowfish with spines that took some time to create, and will be available for sale at the Aug. 14 event.