Nancy Richards West has been painting professionally since 1971, with a focus on depicting the quiet beauty of wildlife and nature. Her home and studio are on the picturesque Chincoteague Island, Virginia, the inspiration for many of her paintings. She works in an array of styles and mediums, including the ancient Asian art of Sumi-e painting, or ink wash painting. Ink is hand ground on a stone with water and then applied to rice paper with a brushes made of various types of animal hair.  Once a stroke is painted, it cannot be changed or erased. This makes sumi-e ink wash painting a technically demanding art-form requiring great skill, concentration, and years of training.  “This is the most difficult type of painting I have ever tried, and I love it!” Nancy participates in numerous prestigious wildlife and fine arts festivals throughout the East Coast.