Inside dug Nap’s cozy Burlington waterfront studio located at 1 Main Street, art lines many of the walls.
A tour of the studio shows each stage of his work. Further inside, Nap has a cozy corner consisting of a bed, prints and various supplies. This is where he likes to create many of his pieces.
“I like a certain rough technique, I like kids’ art a lot. I think kids’ art is better than a lot of adults’ art. It’s just fresh,” Nap said.
He uses many mediums including oil, gauche, watercolor and he even dabbles in digital artwork. Nap sometimes uses references, yet he prefers to study photos of certain animals and then draw them by memory.
“It’s kind of analogous to a guitar player memorizing a song … I played music, I can’t do that with music … but I can relatively quickly memorize an animal. And then also though, I don’t want to memorize it perfectly,” he said.
Nap grew up in Montpelier, Vermont. From the very beginning, he was an artist, drawing cowboys with his childhood friend and creating posters for a band he was in.
In the 1980s, he rediscovered art when he realized he wanted to give back and missed being creative.
“[Art] really relaxes me and centers me. I really enjoy what I do,” he said.
He started out with greeting cards, which were hand-colored.
Nap is well known throughout the Vernont community, and as a born-and-raised Vermonter, his art reflects his unique environment.
“I started out doing a lot of kind of, gently poking fun at Vermont, and that was kind of fun and people seemed to like it,” said Nap.
One of Nap’s prints refers to Vermont’s finicky climate. This piece features an image of a stormy sky over cascading green hills scattered with tiny, colorful houses and trees. Below this, it features a long description of drastically changing weather patterns over the course of a day.
After this, he began to expand to pet portraits and art focused on animals.
“I do a lot of dog art. Sometimes I’ll just hear someone say something about some dogs, my ears will pick up, ‘oh yeah, I gotta play around with that, ’” Nap said.
Nap explores many themes through his art. He also has a collection of abstract prints and word prints, as well as seasonal prints.
“I like to have fun. I have a print that says, ‘I like to have fun, I’m funny that way,’” Nap said.
Nap’s art changes based on current events and the things that surround him.
“When Bernie was running for president, I did a lot of Bernie art. As I said, I am open, whatever kind of moves me,” he said.
Nap has a print that reads, “I am a Bernie maniac.”
Nap began selling his art in 1990. About a year ago, he began selling his work on the UVM campus, outside the Davis Center.
“It’s fun to meet all you students,” he said. “I lead kind of a reclusive life. I come here, I work with my assistant, I go home, I work at home.”
Nap has art inspired by UVM as well. He has a print that reads “good old groovy uvy,” and another one that says, “univ. of brrrr-mont.”
“I think [I’m inspired by] life in general,” Nap said.
Besides the Andrew Harris Commons, people can find him on Saturdays at the BTV Market in City Hall Park, on his personal website and in 28 different shops and galleries.
These places include shops in Vermont cities and towns like Newport, St. Albans, Montpelier, Woodstock and Bennington. Outside of Vermont, his art can be found in several shops in California, Martha’s Vineyard and more.
