Nathalie F. R. Ward

I’m a colorist. I paint with my fingers, mostly in oil pastels. I love to feel the colors move beneath my fingers, slowly stretching into each other.  And then blending, to suit or explore my mood.

I have southern ‘Piedmont Virginia’ roots, although most of my life I’ve juggled two worlds, Cape Cod and the Caribbean. I’ve spent my professional years on or by the sea: influenced by salt water, whales and West Indian culture, where gesticulations are a language of their own and light, wind and color are in constant play.

I am attracted to the primitive and the gut expression of moods. Whether on paper, canvas or digital, rarely do I use brushes. Although I have no formal training, I have joyfully studied nature, sound, light and movement. 

Untethered at 70, from the daily hustle, I am taking time to explore a universe of color and open the gates to my imagination as it comes flaming forth, breastbone arched, ready to invent.