Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Nikki Nolan. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Nikki, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?

The story of how I started my artistic practice is a bit of a slow burn. It officially started a about three years ago, but really it goes back farther to first falling in love with drawing as a child, drifting away as many do, remembering that love in adolescence but my parents discouraging me, then as soon as I was out on my own in the world I decided to go to art school. I got a year in but had to quit and start waiting tables to get by. I couldn’t justify doing anything creative and essentially gave up. Ten years went by, and in 2020 we found ourselves in a pandemic, service industry work came to a grinding halt and suddenly I had tons of extra time on my hands. For the first time in a long time my mind had the space to think creatively, and I began making watercolor paintings of what I call Trash Bouquets, New Orleans trash cans overflowing with lush tropical plants from people’s overgrown yards – an especially ubiquitous motif during hurricane season. I shared these on Instagram and they became popular and I started selling prints. That gave me the confidence to see what would happen if I started doing large format paintings on canvas, to really make it official. Ever since then I have luckily been selling my paintings and enjoy working out of my studio in the Marigny.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am a gal originally from Southern California, but also kind of from Ireland, and now have lived in New Orleans for 13 years. I am mostly self-taught in acrylic painting, making lifelike scenes from my every day life. My business consists of a blend of making my own work with no clue who or if someone will buy it, as well as taking jobs that come my way, whether it’s a commissioned painting or little illustration jobs. The industry can be super unpredictable so I try to go with the flow. Fortunately we live in the age of social media where artists can get their work out there in a more democratic fashion compared to the exclusive, elite art world that used to be the only option. It’s amazing to think how much work many contemporary painters make comes from Instagram. I am in a unique position where I can sell directly to clients, but also have some of my pieces represented by an online gallery of sorts, and I love having that level of freedom to make decisions about selling my work.

I think people gravitate to my work because of the level of detail. To me I look at it and see a lot of imperfections and abstractions, but I often hear people thinking it’s a photo. If I had to pick something I’m most proud of it would be that a piece of mine was just accepted into the Louisiana Contemporary 2024 exhibit at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art…. so I can officially say my work is going in a museum?! Pinching myself.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

A lesson I had to unlearn was the rule of only being allowed to paint from life, as in painting what is physically in front of you and never using a photo as a reference. In my brief time in art school this was drilled into me. I understand the function of that rule, it’s to teach you how to see. Like really see in the way an artist sees, which is truly a skill and perhaps a necessity. But ultimately it was one of the many mental blocks that kept me from painting all those years. When I reapproached painting I used my own photos to draw from and just thought “whatever, I guess this is all wrong but I’m doing it anyway, who cares” and turns out the world did not end. Then I learned many painters paint from photos on purpose because they prefer the qualities it provides pertaining to color, detail and particular sense of being sort of zoomed in to an image. I also love that it opens up options to what I can actually paint, so I’m not just painting subject matter I can stand in front of. Now I can appreciate the ability I have to look very closely thanks to this rule, but it was important for me to break that rule to move forward and develop my personal style.

We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.

This is a love story! My business partner is also my life partner: a gorgeous successful talented photographer. Actually, not to exaggerate but she is the reason I am painting at all. First, I was genuinely inspired by her own work and process. Without being conscious of it, her approach began to rub off on me, and I started to slow down and notice sweet moments from our long walks and save them to paint later. Beyond that she practically parted an ocean in our life so I could paint. She made me a home studio, urged me to paint, and took things off my plate so I could actually do it. The epitome of a supportive partner. Flash forward, we now share a studio and mutually encourage one another through our artistic endeavors.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://nikkinolan.com
• Instagram: @nikki__nolan

Image Credits

I took all the photos except the one of me doing a dance move in the studio, that is by Emma Ledgerwood