We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Nicola Russell. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Nicola below.

Nicola , appreciate you joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

I’m a portrait painter and a social media content creator. Back in 2020, during COVID lockdowns, I started a TikTok account and began posting watercolor portraits, mainly of historical figures, along with voiceovers about their lives. It started as a way to pass the time, but eventually grew into more meaningful work.
Occasionally, strangers would message me with suggestions. One day, I received a message from a young girl asking if I could paint her best friend, 15 year old, Gracie Anne Muehlberger, who had been killed in a school shooting. I agreed. It was one of the hardest videos I’ve ever made—Gracie’s story is heartbreaking.
When I posted it, the video went viral, with over a million views overnight. The attention it brought to her story and the need for gun-reform made me feel like I’d done something that truly mattered. Social media is often full of noise, and I’ve definitely contributed to it, but that experience showed me its potential to inform, inspire, and honor people in meaningful ways. It changed the kind of work I wanted to create.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Nicola Russell. I’m a watercolor and oil painter, as well as a social media content creator. Online, I go by @vangoghandloveyourself on TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram. My creative work focuses on portraits and landscapes, but I’m best known online for combining portrait painting with storytelling—particularly stories from feminist history. I began creating these videos during the 2020 COVID lockdowns, filming my painting process while narrating the lives of women from the past who moved me. These were stories that sparked awe and stayed with me, and painting their portraits felt like the most natural way to share that inspiration and pass their impact forward.
To me, inspiration is a form of energy—it’s meant to be passed along. When you’re moved by something and respond to it creatively, you become part of a larger chain of inspiration. That’s what I want my work, both in video and in painting, to do: create a spark that might move someone else to think, feel, or make something of their own.
I’ve always been drawn to portraiture. I love the challenge of capturing a person’s presence, spirit, and story through paint. Whether it’s a historical figure or someone I know personally, I approach each portrait with deep attention and care. My hope is to grow into a successful and renowned portrait artist, someone whose work creates a quiet connection between viewer and subject, regardless of when they lived.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Social media is a monster and trying to keep up with what you’re “supposed” to be doing on it is a nightmare and a trap. I have a few hundred thousand followers across platforms, and what I’ve learned (the hard way) is that numbers mean nothing if your relationship to the platform is unhealthy. The biggest advice I can give is to develop a healthy relationship with social media early on. Don’t let likes, views, or comments define the worth of your art or how you feel about what you make. Don’t use it as your only source of validation. Create some emotional distance between you and the act of posting by treating it more like a job. Make a schedule. Turn off notifications. Try not to scroll or check engagement between 5PM and 9AM.
Also: trust your gut. Post what genuinely interests you. Gaining followers by posting things that don’t align with your values or voice isn’t worth it. The goal is to build a community around the work you actually want to do, not the version of yourself you think the algorithm wants.
At the end of the day, it is a phenomenal tool for artists, just make sure you’re the one running it, and it’s not running you.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

Showing up. That’s been the most effective strategy for growing my clientele and career as an artist: showing up for friends, teachers, peers, classmates, and even people I admire online. Go to gallery openings, lectures, artist talks, and events. Support other people’s work. This naturally leads to genuine connections.
Learn people’s faces and names. Remembering someone’s name in person might open more doors than any perfectly worded email ever could. Be curious about others. When you show real interest in people, they often return that energy and that connection could be what gets you invited to a group show or leads to a collaboration, a commission, or your next big opportunity.
Kindness, consistency, and sincerity go a long way. Show up, be kind, and be real. The relationships you build will take your work places algorithms never could.
I have to credit Dale Carnegie’s book How to Win Friends and Influence People, for introducing me to how powerful and wonderful these skills are.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.studionicolarussell.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vangoghandloveyourself/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nicola.russell8/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@vangoghandloveyourself
• Other: TikTok:
  https://www.tiktok.com/@vangoghandloveyourself

Image Credits

Tun Myaing is the photographer for the personal photo of me. All photos of the artwork were taken by myself.