I have recently relocated and now work from my studio at home by Ditchling Common in Mid Sussex. I feel very fortunate to be so close to South Downs National Park, and only a stone's throw away from Ashdown Forest and the Sussex coast with its seaside towns and chalk cliff-lined beaches to inspire me.
I use Indian Inks for all my work, both the paintings and collages. I really love the powerful, sparkling colours of inks and that they are an ancient water-based medium which is both lightfast and permanent, I find them a pleasure to work with and their immediacy of application really suits my intuitive style. You can read my blog about why this is my favourite medium and my passion for using Indian Inks here.
Growing up in Brighton, after leaving school I went on to study Art at Eastbourne College of Art in the late 1980’s and then graduated from Brighton University in Illustration (BA Hons) in 1990. After a short period freelancing for magazine publishers, I worked in the print and stationery industries for many years before returning to Sussex to live and re-start creating art in 2013.
An important chapter in my journey was joining the Chalk Gallery in February 2016, a cooperatively run artist-led gallery, well-respected for nurturing artistic talent, where I was head of the publicity team and then chairperson from 2019, which I did until 2022.
I am now represented by two independent galleries in Sussex who have a good range of my work and I also enjoy participating in group exhibitions such as at Star Brewery Gallery near the castle in Lewes and open studio events such as Artwave Festival.
A seasonal selection of my paintings and prints can be found at Artologie in Cuckfield, and at Greenfinch in Ticehurst. For up to date information about where else you can find my work, please follow me on Facebook or Instagram, or sign up to my newsletter at the bottom of this page.
Some work is also available to buy direct from my online shop, and in-person visits can be arranged by appointment at my studio. Please get in touch here for any enquiries.
What's on: Events & Exhibitions
Listing of forthcoming (and previous) exhibitions and events.
Collections of work:
My work can be categorised by the following collections:
Wood panel paintings, ink on a primed birchwood panel. Many of these paintings are now available as limited edition prints. See Nichola's blog about limited edition prints.
'Framescapes', an inventive series of small paintings with painted frames, integral to the painting. See Nichola's blog about the First Framescape.
Decorative collages, expressing of the joy in the treasures of the natural world, such as flowers, fruit and shells.
Occasionally I run workshops for small groups of adults and art groups. Please get in touch if you would like more information, click here.