Nancy Tankersley has had a lifelong interest in painting the human form, and much of her work focuses on figures in contemporary life. While she also paints landscapes en plein air, her figurative paintings often begin with candid snapshots she takes on her phone. These are not intended as portraits of specific individuals, but rather as expressions of people interacting with their environments, scenes that speak to shared human experiences. She begins her process by examining the snapshots on her computer, cropping until a compelling composition emerges. Her goal is not to produce a detailed rendering, but to capture a moment in time that conveys the essence of what the subject is experiencing. Nancy approaches her figurative work much like she would a landscape painted outdoors. She blocks in the essential shapes and light-dark patterns using oil on various surfaces, then gradually breaks those shapes into smaller elements until the painting feels resolved. Throughout her career, she has painted a wide variety of working people: traffic officers, chefs, dishwashers, waitresses, road crews, TSA agents, painters, watermen, lifeguards, singers, dancers, jockeys, and even business travelers waiting at airport carousels. Her interest in people at work has led to a focused series on Chesapeake Bay watermen and, in the West, cowboys. Although based on the East Coast, Nancy travels often to the West to paint and spend time with family. With personal roots in all four corners of the country, she values the chance to explore and reflect on the diversity of American life.