About Nancy Bentley

I have loved art since I was a child but chose to pursue other academic and career routes. Still, my life has been significantly influenced by the arts and to a great degree by my sister, Wanda Kemper, who was an accomplished, professional artist and passed away in 2019. My sister was my greatest supporter and mentor for pursuing the art world. I spent an entire month with my sister in the San Francisco Bay area to learn how to oil paint when I retired from full-time work. 

I retired as Vice-President of Student Development at Moraine Valley Community College (MVCC), after serving over 30 years in student services administration at 2-year and 4-year institutions in Illinois and Ohio. After retiring from MVCC, I spent another 9 years teaching part time with Benedictine University’s online doctoral program in higher education. 

Since 2017, I have had the opportunity to focus more intently on art—my other life passion. Besides my sister, I studied under local artist John Howard for four years at the McCord Gallery. I have enrolled in numerous online classes with artists Phil Davies and Alain Picard as well as have taken in-person classes and workshops from several Chicago area artists. I continue to learn and grow in the world of art, enrolling in coursework and inspired by other artists’ work. 

I believe that anyone, in essence, can become an artist—by learning essential drawing techniques and observational skills along with continued practice. I hope that my work will inspire others and will encourage some to consider taking up art—as a vocation or avocation. 

I prefer to create works of realism and especially enjoy doing portraiture, attempting to capture the spirit and essence of the human or animal subject. I love to paint and draw in a variety of mediums, especially pastel, graphite, colored pencil, charcoal,  and mixed-media.