I’m Nicola and I paint colourful semi-abstract landscapes, still lifes and portraits. My work is intuitive, each painting is unplanned and evolves on the panel. I use acrylic paints for their immediacy, and spray, smear or scrape the paint as I explore my memory and imagination. Abstracts can become landscapes, still lifes or portraits and vice versa: the history of this journey partially visible, creating unexpected depth and texture. In this evolution, happy accidents often align to effect a deeper symbolism. It’s often not until the painting is complete that the story, or even lesson, behind it becomes clear.
For my portraits, I often work from life. Free-flowing conversation during a sitting enables me to get to the heart of a person. Placing colours freely and intuitively I build a fleeting frame that captures their essence.
When not in the studio, I am a documentary director and my work takes me to remote corners of the globe. Each of these unique and privileged experiences helps shape my exploration around storytelling – the external experience and internal dialogue of imagining a better future.
