Nancy’s paintings explore the relationship between humans, animals, and the natural world through innovative approaches to the genres of landscape and portraiture. Her work speaks to the innocence and fragility of the animal kingdom through explorations of the landscape of Boca Grande.
Nancy has committed through her art to supporting charities that endeavor to sustain endangered animals and the environment and educational opportunities for college students. She accepts and enjoys commissions and as a lifelong animal lover enjoys painting portraits of beloved pets for their owners.
Bass studied art at Drake University and the University of Virginia. For thirty-five years, she lived and painted on a farm in Albemarle County, Virginia where she and her husband raised a herd of cattle that continues to inspire her paintings.
Bass’s recent awards include a First Place from The Artist’s Magazine and a Jurors Award in the Art2Life International Competition. In numerous juried exhibitions, her paintings have been singled out by critics and museums professions alike, including Peter Schjeldahl (The New Yorker), Carla Hanzal (Curator of Contemporary Art, Mint Museum of Art), Mark Richard Leach (Director of the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art), and William Hennessey (Director of the Chrysler Museum of Art). She has been an artist in residence at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts in Amherst, VA and has held solo exhibitions at the Lynchburg Fine Arts Center, VA (2009) and the Bone Creek Museum of Agrarian Art, NE (2010), the latter with accompanying catalogue. Her work was included in the 2011 exhibition Color Study at the Asheville Museum of Art. Her paintings are held in numerous collections both public and private across the country.