YR lived in Anchorage from 1973 to 1980. She often says that as an artist, she was born in Alaska. In 1976, YR was accepted as a member artist of the Visual Arts Center (VAC) to study printmaking, a medium for which she developed a life-long passion.

The uniqueness of Alaska as "the last frontier" made it possible for the VAC to attract internationally regarded artists for extended visits, to impart workshops and master classes. This continuous influx of diverse artists, working closely with the VAC member artists, resulted in a stimulating and creative environment.

While at the VAC, two visiting artists in particular, had a profound and lasting impact on YR's development as a printmaker: Dr. Jules Heller (Dean, College of Fine Arts, Arizona State University), who encouraged a holistic view for printmaking as a vehicle of self-expression and introduced her to the idea of the "artist/printmaker", and Mish Kohn (California State University), from whom she learned the fine details of chine-collé and the freedom to create "evolving editions".

Yolanda del Riego returned to Spain in 1981 and set up her residence and studio in Madrid. Without an etching press, she worked at traditional etching ateliers where artists did not perform the end-to-end process from inking to printing. This incompatibility with the artist/printmaker approach drove her to branch out and focus on other mediums, resulting in a continuous cycle of periods of experimentation, each culminating in an exhibition.

Attracted by the idea of doing collage with fabric, she created a series of abstract large-format patchworks. In 1983, with the collaboration of the United States Embassy, these patchworks were first shown at the Instituto de Cooperación Iberoamericana in an exhibit titled Óleos, grabados y textiles (presented by José de Castro Arines) and later that year at the United States Cultural Center in Madrid in Obra reciente (presented by the award-winning poet José Hierro).

The Biblioteca Nacional de España recognized 10 years of YR's printmaking works with a solo exhibition in 1986, titled Yolanda del Riego. Obra gráfica (1976–1986) (curated by Elena Santiago Páez and presented by Cesáreo Rodríguez Aguilera).

YR returned to oil painting, using different supports: canvas, wood, and paper. These works were exhibited in 1987 at Galería Macarrón in a show titled Óleos (presented by Luis González Robles).

After receiving a long-awaited Charles Brand etching press from New York in 1987, YR resumed printmaking in her studio and continued her experiments with Japanese papers, dye and wrinkle —focusing primarily on monoprints. The resulting works were shown in 1989 at Galería María Salvat in Barcelona, in a show titled Yolanda del Riego y sus métodos calcográficos (presented by Mercedes de Prat). Inspired by the 200th anniversary of the French Revolution and the recognition of women as equal citizens that took place during that period, YR titled these works with names of the calendar months used during the revolution ("Messidor" —month of the harvest, "Thermidor" —month of heat, etc).

YR went through a period of introspection in the 1990s, closing her studio and spending long periods of time in Paris with her daughter. Although she temporarily stepped away from the art scene, she continued to paint from home. Some of her works from this period were shown in 1996 at Galería Dean in Valencia, in an exhibit titled Explorando los límites del papel (presented by José Garnería).

YR set up a new studio on the island of Arousa in 1997, where the surrounding Galician marine landscapes began to have a notable influence on her work. Soft-ground etchings and collagraphs, incorporating corals and kelp, were the subject of an exhibition titled Impresiones y Expresiones (presented by José Marín Medina) at the Galería Rafael García in Madrid in 1998.

Long walks on the beach and the beautiful sunsets motivated YR to begin working with watercolors, as she could easily work outdoors. These landscapes were first exhibited in 1999, at a show titled Horizonte de Arousa, at Galería Rafael García in Madrid (presented by Javier Rubio Nomblot). The poet, José Corredor-Matheos, allowed her to use fragments of his poems as titles for the works.

From the terrace of her studio, overlooking the sea, she was able to expose steel plates to the elements for long periods of time. These plates offered very delicate etched lines, and she printed them with a variety of mixed techniques. These mono-prints were featured, along with a number of collagraphs, in a show titled Obras recientes (presented by Francesc Miralles) in 1999 at Galería EUDE in Barcelona.

At this time, YR was also working with linocuts. Her Atlantic Quartet, a series inspired by the poems of T.S. Elliot, was displayed at Galería EUDE’s ARCO 2002 stand with the title Yolanda del Riego: El grabado como indagación (presented by José María Iglesias).

YR broadened her work with watercolors to include sumi-e inks, and presented these landscapes in 2003, returning to Galería EUDE with a show titled Más arriba de la mar (presented by J. Corredor-Matheos).

Looking for an alternative to acid, YR began to mechanically manipulate steel plates - making holes, etc, and these works were the subject of Los 4 elementos, a solo exhibit (presented by J. Marín Medina) at the Casa-Fuerte Bezmiliana (Rincón de la Victoria, Málaga) in 2003.

YR has been working almost exclusively in digital mediums since 2010. 

Nature has always been an important inspiration for Yolanda del Riego and concern over environmental issues —such as marine pollution, deforestation and climate change— has increasingly become the primary subject of her work.

YR's recent exhibitions, Climate Change. An Artist's Perspective (2016), Unsustainable Escalation (2016), The Sea As I See It (2015) and Trees to Meet You (2014) have almost exclusively focused on the negative effects of environmental degradation and climate change.