Pastel Podcast Episode 16: Nancie King Mertz

From Chicago’s L Trains to Giverny: A Conversation with Nancie King Mertz

Nancie King Mertz has been painting her whole life — from extension classes at the University of Illinois as a teenager to a 19-year gallery on Clark Street in Chicago, to becoming the PSA’s newest Hall of Fame honoree. She holds the Eminent Pastelist and Master Circle designations with IAPS, has been featured on the cover of Pastel Journal, and was invited as guest of honor by the Pastel Society of France to paint for 12 days near Monet’s home in Giverny. Now based in Rockford, Illinois, she runs a full learning center retreat where students from across the country — and the world — come to paint, eat well (her French-trained chef partner handles that part), and grow. In this episode, Nancie shares her signature techniques, her “tick mark map” approach, why she never lets students bring pastel pencils, and the one rule that separates good paintings from great ones.

Key Topics Covered

• Growing up in small-town Illinois and using U of I extension classes to build art credits before college
• Running a gallery and frame shop for 19 years in Chicago — and how framing sustained the painting
• Opening a full learning center retreat in Rockford in 2021: studio, gallery, frame shop, and lodging under one roof
• How a gifted set of pastels in 1988 launched a parallel love affair with the medium
• Her “tick mark map” technique: vine charcoal to lock in composition before a single pastel mark is made
• Underpainting with denatured alcohol and a bristle fan brush — and why it must be bristle, not soft
• Working dark to light: retain your darks, avoid “mid-tone hell,” and use the 3/4 rule for strong value composition
• Painting the Chicago “L” — using elevated train shadows as calligraphy across the ground plane
• Funding international travel by painting on the trip, then returning home to a show of 75–80 paintings
• Being named guest of honor by the Pastel Society of France; painting 12 days in Giverny, steps from Monet’s home
• PSA Hall of Fame honoree (just announced at time of recording)
• How IAPS designation points work — and why consistent, quality submissions are all you need
• Why drawing is non-negotiable, even for landscape and architecture painters

Timestamps

0:00 – Welcome & host updates: Lisa’s England workshop; Just Plain Fun Invitational at the Hugh Skelly Gallery

3:00 – Introducing Nancie King Mertz; PSA Hall of Fame honoree announcement

4:30 – Origin story: growing up in Illinois, U of I extension classes, painting degree, and teaching at Eastern Illinois

8:00 – Gallery and frame shop on Clark Street, Chicago — 19 years, seven days a week

10:00 – Moving to Rockford and fulfilling the dream: the learning center retreat

13:00 – Discovering pastel: a gifted set in 1988 and the appeal of immediacy for plein air

16:00 – Technique deep-dive: tick mark map, darks first, denatured alcohol wash, working dark to light

19:00 – Richardson pastels: four signature sets, 80 pastels each, for studio and Sienna box

21:00 – Chicago subject matter: cityscapes, the L elevated train, and using architecture as a drawing challenge

25:00 – Painting 24 countries and monetizing travel: paint on the trip, come home, hold a show

29:00 – What collectors respond to: light and shadow, travel paintings, commissioned location pieces

33:00 – When to reach for pastel vs. oil: if there’s a lot of drawing involved, pastel wins

36:00 – Building toward IAPS designations: the point system, show submissions, and consistency

40:00 – What separates a good painting from a great one: strong value range, the 3/4 rule, and avoiding mid-tone hell

44:00 – Guest of honor in Giverny; Prix de Pastel award; Pastel Journal cover

51:00 – Teaching tips: no pastel pencils, use the full stick sideways, bristle fan brush for architecture

54:00 – Workshop retreats in Rockford; upcoming shadow and light workshop for PSA in NYC; October trip to France, Venice, and Sicily

Resources & Links

• Nancie’s website: NancieKingMertz.com
• Instructional videos from Nancie: PaintTube.tv
• IAPS (International Association of Pastel Societies): iapspastel.org — find a member society near you
• Lisa Skelly: lisaskellyfineart.com
• The Pastel Podcast: thepastelspodcast.com
• Pastel Today Newsletter: Sponsor of the Pastel Podcast

Follow & Subscribe

If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. 🎨

Rate, review, and share — it helps more pastel lovers find the show!

Until next time — stay vibrant!