Nancy is a visual artist based on the South Shore of Nova Scotia. After graduating from NSCAD University (1991) with a BFA in painting and photography, Nancy worked as a digital artist/designer in California, Toronto, and Ottawa. Like many Nova Scotians, she was drawn back to the Province in 2010.
"I live in an old house on the LaHave River, near the ocean, surrounded by wildflowers and woodland full of critters, where I am inspired to explore and express a deep connection to nature in my artwork.
I started using colored pencils for illustrations about 4 years ago. Sharp pencils are fantastic for fine detailed work but I began to feel a bit limited by them and considered switching to paint. I however decided to try to push what I could do with my pencils as drawing tends to sneak its way into my work no matter the medium I use. I’ve always been intrigued by the translucency and depth that artists can achieve with encaustic, oil paint mixed with wax, and wondered if I could get a similar effect using my oil and wax-based pencils. Experimenting with surfaces such as semi-transparent drafting film, paper, and wood I began layering colors and textures. A series of South Shore seascapes and lovely portraits of my backyard birds came out of this exploration."
— Nancy MacDonald, August 2022
