Nancie King Mertz was born and raised in Central Illinois, where she began painting and selling her work in her early teens. She has spent her lifetime painting in oil & pastel.Chicago artist, Nancie King Mertz, is a Master Signature member of Pastel Society of America , a Master Signature member of Chicago Pastel Painters, a Master Circle Member of the International Assoc. of Pastel Societies, and a member of Oil Painters of America. She has work in corporate and private collections worldwide and has won numerous awards in oil & pastel shows across the US. She was awarded the Master Circle Medallion by the Int’l Assoc. of Pastel Societies and is a Master Signature member of the Pastel Society of America and the Chicago Pastel Painters. She teaches across the US and internationally and is on the faculty for the Plein Air Convention and the IAPS Convention.Mertz has traveled to nearly 20 countries and around the US for inspiration, however, Chicago remains her favorite city to explore and paint, where she was twice named “Artist of the Year”. See her work on many of the Chicago-themed TV shows such as The Good Wife, The Good Fight, Chicago Fire and Chicago Justice.Nancie produces well over 100 paintings each year, predominately on-site.Her work was featured on the cover of Pastel Journal in Feb. 2015, along with a 7 page article, and was a feature article in Plein Air Magazine. Her husband, Ron, publishes her sold originals in Giclée prints & cards and they own ArtDeTriumph & Artful Framer Studios at 2938 N Clark in Chicago, where she has won numerous business and community awards, as well as university distinction. Mertz's work can be viewed online at: www.NancieKingMertz.com