Qoro Fine Art Reproductions

Nancy Carol Willis

"Very few people get to make a living doing what they truly love - I'm one of them." One day she may document a robin building a nest, then surf the Internet for information on watersheds for an educational poster. Next, she's off for a weeklong residency with 5th graders. "Getting kids excited about doing research is a piece of cake, once you awaken their natural curiosity about the world around them," says Nancy. "It gives me an excuse to remain a kid at heart."

When she was a youngster, Nancy spent many hours exploring the woods and creek next to her home in suburban Delaware. Returning home, she would empty her pockets of chunks of mica, purple sweet gum leaves or a preying mantis cocoon. A neighborhood artist inspired Nancy's love of nature with books such as Walden by Henry David Thoreau, and Anne Morrow Lindbergh's Gift from the Sea. Nancy's first art teacher took her out to sketch on location, further honing her observation skills.

Click here for Nancy's personal website