Nita Whitney of Auburn, Nebraska, has her art displayed at the Morton-James Public Library in Nebraska City, Nebraska, through August 29. (Submitted photos)

The “Just Nita” art exhibit runs through August 29, 2023, in Morton-James Public Library’s Kimmel Gallery, located at 923 1st Corso, Nebraska City, Nebraska. An artist talk is scheduled for Saturday, August 12, from 5 to 7 p.m. The exhibit is available during regular library hours: Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m.; Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; and Saturday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.

Nita Whitney was born in Germany to American parents and spent her first birthday aboard a ship coming to the U.S. She lived in Colorado, Japan, Massachusetts and California before she was 12 years of age. She has always loved to draw and paint.

Nita met Jim Whitney in high school, but life took them down different paths for over 40 years. Paths crossed and they married and moved from Alabama to Nebraska where Jim works in the nuclear power industry as an engineer at Cooper Nuclear Station.

Nita attended Peru State College in Nebraska and obtained her degree in art. Shortly afterward, she fell on ice and had a serious head injury that nearly took her life. It took several years for her to return to creativity. It was while visiting with artist Rich Hayek in Brownville, Nebraska, in July 2022, that Nita picked up dry pastels for the first time. At Rich’s encouragement, Nita produced her first small, dry pastel painting.

One of Nita’s paintings, “A New Dawn, A New Day” is in the private collection of Governor Jim Pillen. A giclee of this painting appears in this show and there is a very limited edition of prints available.

Inspired by cloud formations and how they can impact the scene, Nita takes photos while her husband is driving, and marvels at the changes that can occur as they drive just a few miles. She enjoys depicting the same scene in different ways; sometimes reversing a favorite barn, or changing its colors. The pair has traveled to Florida several times, taking photographs of the beaches there, as well as the countryside between Nebraska and Florida. Nita frequently paints her small paintings while riding in the car. Her artist apron tends to catch a lot of the dust from her paintings and she uses a lot of reds in some of her paintings and when they make stops along the way, she gets some interesting looks!

Creativity is a passion of Nita’s and having worked with individuals with disabilities, she is confident that determination is a key factor in a person’s artistic ability.

Nita Whitney currently lives in Auburn, Nebraska, with her husband, Jim, and their two dogs.