Praise for Peoplescapes

“One of the most people-possessed painters in contemporary art, Nancy Calef fills her canvases with humanity, rich or poor, stylish or shaggy, manifesting them in equal size because it’s equality, that is love, which rules her brush. This memoir tells the story of how Calef ingeniously transformed her mother’s ravenous ambition for Nancy to be a “star” -- through much childhood and young adulthood suffering -- into a world stage where the audience becomes sensitively and beautifully executed human beings, evoked with irony, humor and pathos in a painting style uniquely her own.”

Jack Hirschman - Award-winning author and poet, painter and former Poet Laureate of San Francisco, CA

“With a nod to Richard Lindner, a glance toward Red Grooms and a wink at Jack Levine, Calef respects traditional artistic roots when she breaks the plane of the canvas with sculpture and found objects. Her satiric eye views the planet from a unique perspective. The journey that began in the Bronx, was nurtured in the Far East and flourishes in North Beach, has influenced her style, exposing society’s foibles with humor - a thread of tolerance in this complicated world.”

George Krevsky - Owner, George Krevsky Gallery, San Francisco. CA

“Nancy Calef has distinguished herself as a role model for this generation. In a world where girls and young women are confronted with idealized images, Nancy, sharing her inner life, demonstrates that a mind in creative process can prevail in the face of childhood pain.”

Debra Gill, LCSW - Training and Supervising Psychoanalyst, Contemporary Freudian Society, New York, NY

“Stories like Nancy Calef's are central to Narrative Therapy and research methods in clinical psychology. Nancy has shared a personal story but done it so astutely and brilliantly by using artwork to manifest the narrative of her own development. Anyone suffering who is fortunate to read this book will benefit from the universality of this profoundly compelling and magical journey.”

Dr. Janis Phelps, PhD, MFT - Director of Clinical Psychology, Professor, Mill Valley, CA

“Just finished your amazing tale complete with your wonderful renderings. It is really quite insightful and comprehensive.”
Ron Turner - Publisher, Last Gasp Books and Comics, San Francisco, CA

“Nancy Calef produces rich, detailed paintings of people and places . . . Whether she’s portraying casino culture, Wall Street, or the mainstream media’s misplaced priorities, Calef captures the common denominator and unique qualities in each of us.”

Tikkun Daily Magazine

"Nancy Calef's landscapes of 
people are a real challenge
to any figurative painter
by portraying humanity en masse
with all its sad happy
faces."

Lawrence Ferlinghetti - Award-winning poet, former SF Poet Laureate and painter; publisher and co-founder City Lights Books

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