Some people thrive on people like Nancy Medina. In college, when the exceptional talent of a fellow student left other classmates feeling second-rate, Medina remained unruffled and confident in her own ability. She recalls, “I knew I had a secret weapon—my work ethic and willpower.”
That willpower has served Medina well. In recent years, she has created an extensive and award-winning art portfolio, while at the same time working full time as the editorial director of Annals of Emergency Medicine, a leading journal for emergency doctors in the United States. How does she manage to do it all? “I have a strict routine,” she explains. “As soon as I’m home from work, I take care of the basic household chores, and by 6 o’clock every evening I’m in the studio. I often paint until midnight and beyond.”
Medina acquired her dual-career interests honestly. Her father and grandmother had artistic talent, while her mother has a passion for literature and poetry. Although Nancy’s career in publishing and editing initially came first, her artistic leanings steadily vied for attention.
In 1992, she returned to school at Texas A&M and the University of London to take art classes. “By the time I was 30,” she recalls, “I had made it my New Year’s resolution to begin painting regularly. That was 17 years ago and I’ve been painting ever since.”
With an affinity for oil painting, she enjoys witnessing the powerful response that comes when colors react and interact with one another on canvas. Known for her inspiring paintings of backyard flowers and container gardens, Medina’s bold, impressionistic style is immediately eye-catching. Her stunning sunflowers, hydrangeas, pansies and other floral canvases of “container gardens” now hang in homes and galleries of London, Ireland, Canada and the United States.
The artist’s love of gardens and gardening, however, began closer to home. “I grew up in Scurry, Texas, and my parents were organic gardeners back in the ‘70s, before [organic gardening] was in style,” she recalls. “In our vegetable garden, every fourth or fifth row was planted in flowers. I remember standing barefoot under sunflowers that were 8 to 10 feet high, with the sunlight shining behind them.”
Today, at her home in Flower Mound, Nancy still grows sunflowers in the back yard. She tends to them and a garden filled with other blossoms. She and her husband Carlos have raised three pugs as pets and also volunteer for the Dallas Fort Worth Pug Rescue, the largest pug rescue charity in the nation.
A year ago, Medina became a member of an artists’ association known as Daily Painters Gallery. The goal of each member-artist is simple: to paint one new work of art daily. For quite some time (before being juried into the group), she had already made daily painting a habit. “Practice is the key to success with my craft,” she says. “An artist must practice by doing. The only real way to learn is from one’s successes and mistakes.”
Medina’s grit and determination have paid off with an increasingly steady stream of peer recognition. In June 2010, for example, her oil painting “A Quiet Morning” won First Place at the Trinity Arts Guild Open Show, sponsored by one of the oldest art clubs in the Dallas area. “It was my first time to enter the show,” she says, “so it was a huge surprise and honor to win.”
She has won numerous other awards, too, and been invited to participate in juried exhibitions and one-woman art shows throughout the United States. Currently, she is getting ready to participate in the annual springtime Artscape to be held at the Dallas Arboretum March 18-20, 2011.
Medina maintains that her resolute attitude has given her a winning edge as an artist. “We live in a society of instant gratification,” she reflects. “Many artists get discouraged when they don’t see success or recognition come their way after one or two years. They don’t have the ability to press on through setbacks and difficulties. That’s where I have the advantage. I’m willing to outwork them all!”

ON DISPLAY
Nancy Medina’s art can be seen at the following regional galleries and Web sites:

Daily Painters Gallery
www.dailypainters.com

Dutch Art Gallery
10233 E. Northwest Hwy., Suite 420
Dallas, TX
(214) 348-7350
www.dutchartusa.com

The Good Art Company Gallery
211 W. Main
Fredericksburg, TX
(830) 997-1111
www.thegoodartco.com

Flower Mound Art Studio
Flower Mound, TX
(214) 802-5537
www.nancymedina.com

Art & Frames by Wood Gallery
936 Orange Ave.
Coronado, CA
(619) 435-5212
www.artcoronado.com