I am Nancy Rivera Edge . I am a native of Washington DC and a pastel and oil painter. I have  always been interested in the arts. Washington DC provided a wealth  of art museums to spark my creativity and interest in painting.
 

I went to Barton College  and received a BA in Art . After graduation I received an artist in residence  in Wilmington. NC at St. John’s Art Gallery. When the residence ended I moved to Fayetteville  NC and took a teaching position as an Art Educator for 34 years. I was privileged to have had an Invitational Pastel painting show at University of NC. Pembroke. I was   a long time member of Cape Fear Studios  Co-op. I was juried in as a potter, painter …oils and pastels… and photographer. 
 

With the onset of  Covid lock down I realized it was time for a major change in myself and my art. I returned to the Outer Banks where I had spent much of my youth  and rediscovered the wild life and animal refuges that had been a driving force of my creativity. I love capturing the light of the day, the fleeting moments in nature that can seem so private but a  privilege to have witnessed. 

 

I have worked in many art mediums . I always return to pastels . Pastels provide me the versatility to express myself. Capturing the light of the day is the most important and exciting part of painting . Light creates the mood and action of the subject whether a portrait, landscape or animal. I want that light to pop somewhere in my painting. From a small bubble of water to a dramatic contrast in a landscape it invites the viewer into the painting. I enjoy the outdoors and the variety of subject matter that nature provides. 

I’m  constantly looking at people , nature , and light to create a composition. I use the camera and my drawings to bring  ideas together before beginning my paintings.  I have always worked very large but decided to challenge myself by working smaller. 

 
My paintings are part of a body of work related to the OBX . My predominate subject matter is the migratory birds. The Trumpeter swan offers a wonderful challenge with light contrast ,transparency and  reflections. I feel my paintings  are related by subject  and  the use of light .