Nancy Cadogan is getting her hands dirty.

That isn’t unusual for someone who draws and paints every day — but this latest dirt is real, dug from the ground in Yorkshire and Warwickshire, England, and used as the medium for her drawings of trees and landscapes.

“I didn’t even know soil could stick or spread — but I love it. You make these drawings with the breath. You rub in the soil, blow the paper and then the glory reveals itself,” says the artist, who’s been keeping small buckets of dirt around her basement studio, which is a short walk from Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament in London .

“It’s physical work, because you’re clambering over the drawing [on the floor] and it’s weirdly organic. I don’t know quite what I’m doing, although I’m having a fun time,” adds Cadogan , who’s dressed in work gear — jeans and Birkenstock Bostons — with her buttery blond hair tied in a messy bun.

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Cadogan comes from a family that knows dirt can be full of treasure.…