The Others
Meet the Others: Nicole Rose
The Game Changers. The Rule Breakers. The Innovators. Discover some of the fantastic emerging talent showcasing their work at The Other Art Fair.
The Other Art Fair London exhibitor Nicole Rose has combined her skills in Graphic Design and her natural passion for creativity to launch her career as a talented oil painter. Through using photo manipulation on photoshop and blending shades of oil paint, Nicole creates soothing compositions that the viewer can get lost in.
Tell us about who you are and what you do. What is your background?
I’m a Graphic Design Creative Director, having founded and run a successful design agency for over twenty years. I studied for my BA (hons) at Central St Martins, which was an extremely creative environment, covering all aspects of art and design and I’ve always kept an interest in drawing and painting, but never really the time to practice during my design career. A few years ago I took a short break from the design studio, enrolled in an art club and started painting again. I showed in a few exhibitions with the art club and also had a solo exhibition. It wasn’t until last year though, that I left the design studio to concentrate on making art full time.
I now spend my time painting abstract landscapes, primarily in oils, and creating complimentary digital printed pieces in photoshop.
I use the key principals of graphic design – visual storytelling through symmetry, balance, colour and the spaces in between – in my approach to making artworks.
If you could describe your work in 3 words, what would they be?
Vibrant blended colour
https://www.instagram.com/p/CDvs48HnBUG/
How did you first get interested in your mediums and what draws you to them specifically?
When I first started painting I was using acrylics, which I do enjoy painting with, but felt that the type of fluid blending that my work was heading towards was best suited to a different medium. My teacher at Art Club gave me a taster session with oil paints and I was hooked. I find them easy to manipulate, the colours blend and interact well on the canvas and because of the longer drying time, I have more time to really work the paint.
Can you walk us through your process? How do you know when an artwork finished?
Using my experience as digital designer, many of my paintings begin in photoshop. I photograph elements of the natural world around me, from light coming through the trees to wider landscapes. Within photoshop I manipulate the photos until I create the basis of a mood I’d like to paint. Then begins the interaction of the paint with the canvas and my thoughts and feelings. I paint in oils, layering and blending various shapes of colours to recreate an emotional response to the starting image. I love the push and pull of oil paints and the process of an image evolving on the canvas. Sometimes the outcome is expected. Other times it’s not. But when I feel ready to photograph the painting and consider keeping it for my walls at home, that’s when I know it’s finished!
The second part of my process, and complimentary to my paintings, is to photograph sections of finished paintings, take them back into photoshop, and manipulate again to create an alternative digital variation to the painting, but shared in its essence – as limited edition prints.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CAKfr7BnjUw/
Has being in isolation affected your artwork practice in any way?
When we first went into lockdown I found it very difficult to paint and basically ground to a halt, as I felt uncomfortable to take pleasure to be making art. But once our family had established a new kind of daily rhythm it felt very natural thing to be up in my studio with time to really think about where my painting practice was taking me along with the emotions of being at home with my family. That led to my series “The Subtleties of Love”, a collection of 6 small paintings reflecting my time in lockdown with my family. Also for me, the way I paint, using a large blending brush in wide sweeps is vey meditative and has kept me grounded over the last few months.
What is the best advice given to you as an artist?
Be friendly with everyone you meet on your journey – they are your future network, and the connections you make will build opportunities.
Shop artwork by Nicole and other trailblazing artists at The Other Art Fair’s Online Studios.
Introducing The Other Art Fair Online Studios, a new online platform offering art lovers around the world access to over 800 Fair artists. The Online Studios will keep our community feeling inspired, engaged, and continue to spread joy through art.
