Nancy is a native of Richmond, Virginia. She received a BFA in Studio Art from Virginia Tech, her MFA in Illustration from SCAD and studied at RISD. She is a member of the Colored Pencil Society of America, the UK Coloured Pencil Society, the National Association of Women Artists, the Allied Artists of America, the American Artists Professional League, American Women Artists and the Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club. Nancy is an award-winning published artist. She has been featured in Strokes of Genius, Art & Color 365 Magazine, American Art Collector, CP Treasures, COLOR Magazine and on a billboard in Times Square in NYC. Her work has been exhibited in prestigious galleries including the Sasse Museum of Art (CA), the Casa Grande Art Museum (AZ), the Butler Institute of American Art (OH), The Salmagundi Club (NY), One Art Space (NY), Bargehouse (London), Almenara Art Prize (Spain) and is a part of VCU Arts in Healthcare Permanent Collection (VA). In May 2024, Nancy was awarded the ArtField’s People’s Choice 2D $12,500 Award in Lake City, SC, and her work is permanently exhibited in their private collection. She teaches at her own studio, The Jacey Gallery LLC, in Richmond.
How would you describe your work to someone seeing it for the first time?
“A Bright Future Lies Ahead…,” 19.5” x 22,” Holbein colored pencils on Strathmore 500 series cold pressed illustration board. My composition intertwines the realistic and fantastical worlds. This piece portrays the magical blend of childlike innocence with the spiritual power of illumination and self-awareness. The orbuculum is an object utilized in seeing things that would otherwise be invisible, yet with the eyes of a child, the world can be seen with an unfiltered genuine endless open mind, filled with joy, purity and void of self-consciousness. The fireflies and pondering orbs surrounding the young boy symbolize hope, goals, inspiration, guidance, creativity, self-awareness, faith, self-pride, knowledge and encouragement. Be intentional in the light that you seek in others and let your light shine so that others have faith in you. The light within us is the power of life. Let it guide an illuminated path to a bright and promising future that lies ahead…
What ideas, themes, or emotions tend to show up again and again in your work?
What inspires you most right now, and why?
What does your creative process typically look like from start to finish?
One of my favorite parts of a piece is the initial sketching process. I place a grid on both my reference and surface. I sketch very lightly and lay my colored pencil layers down in a dark to light process. I start with my subject matter first and lay in background last, as I may change colors to better suit and balance the colors in my subject. My sketching and color process are completed upside down, no solvents. My process takes many layers and hundreds of hours from start to completion.
Was there a turning point when you started taking your art/photography seriously? What happened?
How do you know when a piece is finished?
What is a favorite tool, piece of equipment, or brand that you cannot live without?
Prismacolor and Holbein colored pencils. .
What has been one of the biggest lessons you have learned as an artist so far?
Never give up!!
What are you currently working on or exploring next?
I am currently working on a fantasy portrait in oil on canvas.
What do you hope viewers feel, question, or carry with them after experiencing your work?
Each of my pieces aim to tell a story that I hope my audience can feel unfold as they study my pieces.