Holiday Issue: Artist Mary Nelson Sinclair on Color, More Color & Best Gifts
Meet Mary Nelson Sinclair, a New York-based abstract artist with a serious knack for color — beautiful and striking swipes, swaths, drips and layers of it. Here wearing Tory’s Debbie jacket, she talks to Tory Daily about her work and her holiday loves in an interview that ranges from Eloise to a cool Jack Daniel’s cocktail confection.
I was in high school. I went to a school in the Hudson Valley with a wonderful art program with a teacher who really focused on teaching the foundations from the get-go. He also made it a point to expose us to galleries and museums in the city, Storm King and artist studios in the Hudson Valley.
First art love…
The illustrations from Eloise by Kay Thompson. My mother used to read me her very own book from childhood. I loved that the illustrations consisted only of pale pink and red with black lines.
My work is about…
Atmosphere. I like to create a feeling of time frozen, or suspended. I strive to create a feeling that you can actually see rather than visualize.
Favorite colors to work with…
There is no favorite as my love for color and hue is endless. I am constantly discovering new combinations and each relationship brings out a different property or characteristic of a color.
The color that best describes my personality…
The whole color wheel.
Best gift ever received…
A portrait of Robert Rauschenberg taken by Herb Ritts given to me by my parents.
Favorite holiday tradition…
Our family has had a tradition, dating back to my mother’s childhood, of saying “Christmas Gift!” You have to be the first person to say it and it’s the first thing you say to everyone on Christmas morning.
And holiday song…
White Christmas.
And holiday cocktail…
Brandy Milk Punch — a family recipe. It consists of Jack Daniel’s (rather than brandy), white crème de menthe, ice cream, milk and nutmeg over ice.
Favorite New York galleries and museums…
Mary Boone Gallery, Eleven Rivington, Maccarone, Gavin Brown’s Enterprise, The Frick, MoMA and Cooper Hewitt (cannot wait until it reopens in December!).
