Meet Nancy Reyner

 

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Nancy Reyner. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Nancy, thank you so much for joining us. You are such a positive person and it’s something we really admire and so we wanted to start by asking you where you think your optimism comes from?

Optimism is an energy – it’s a choice. Each day a variety of things happen, both inside of us through emotions and thoughts, or outside of us from our environment that is out of our control. As each event presents itself to us, we have a choice to embrace it or get uncomfortable to the point of stress. I have made a conscious choice to choose optimism. I honestly don’t know where it comes from. I think I’ve had it all my life. There are times where choosing positivity is a challenge, and I am not always successful, but I do try. By being positive I can get things done, reach for goals higher than I think possible, continue to do my work even if the odds are against it, and feel joyful and happy about my life. When I don’t choose optimism I feel defeated. But by whom? The only one that can make the choice is me. I remember several times when I was very little, that I imagined a certain outcome, and when it came about I was convinced that reality can shift according to our consciousness and moods. Later in life I discovered the teachings of Yogananda (author of The Autobiography of a Yogi) and started meditating. This practice made it easier for me to stay conscious and choose positive over negative. I was also inspired by the teachings of Abraham-Hicks. There are so many stresses in our daily lives it is a real challenge to choose positive. I found it very helpful to find teachers that could offer practices and methods to stay positive.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I paint exotic landscapes. I am best known for painting, inventing and teaching specialty acrylic techniques. Currently I have two main styles using illuminating effects – gold metal leaf combined with acrylic paint, and waterscapes employing a special technique for waves and clouds. I use the idea of landscape in a very bare sense, to create what I feel are romantic versions of heaven – places in my imagination that are beautiful and meditative. These imaginary worlds use nature as my muse for inspiring luminous interpretations of air, water, earth and light. Merging the literal and metaphorical, my paintings hover somewhere between pure abstraction and realistic landscape.

I credit my mature work to my move to Santa Fe, New Mexico – a place that honors the late master painter Georgia O’Keeffe. New Mexico was O’Keeffe’s old hang out and gave birth to several famous artist colonies in the early 20th century. Painting from New Mexico’s exquisite and diverse scenery initiated my passion for landscape, abstraction and magical nature. I have appeared on television for HGTV’s “That’s Clever,” and authored several best-selling painting books with Penguin Books. I teach painting classes from my Santa Fe studio, and also offer online coaching options.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

1) Taking risks.
2) Not listening to critical or negative opinions from others.
3) Always doing my best no matter what the task is at hand.

My advice to those who are early in their journey is to listen to your own intuition. Disregard what others say or think, especially from those who do not have a vision and are not fulfilled with their life’s choices. Keep as your motto that your intuition is always right! Be content starting at the beginning and do your best. Don’t rush the early stages of learning a trade or task. Even if you have a starter job and aren’t happy about the tasks and employers, put in a 100% effort and always seek quality. You will be noticed and you will also be creating good habits that will help achieve your vision.

As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?

There have been so many inspiring books I’ve read so I’ll just delve into my most recent discovery, The Untethered Soul by Michael Singer. He presents a very simple method for getting rid of angst and stress. I recommend reading the book for the full details, but basically he focuses on the heart. By allowing space between your authentic self and any uncomfortable feelings in the heart, you can free up, open up your heart, and be your bravest self. I’ve been reading it over and over and each time I gain more insights.

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