About Susan “Shea” Nicholas
My love of art began when I was a small child from which time I have been constantly intrigued by visual patterns, shapes and colours from minute insects to the vastness of the sky and sea and the great bounty of nature.
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I have never had the opportunity to study art formally but I have always been connected to my artistic self by drawing, painting and designing throughout the years. Since I was a young woman, I taught myself to paint by studying other artists’ work and was a frequent visitor to the NSW Art Gallery. I have always been inspired by the works of the Impressionists, Post Impressionists, early Modern Artists and Australian artists particularly including First Nation’s artists.
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In 1997 I moved from the Inner West of Sydney, 4 km from the city centre to the Mid North Coast of NSW to escape the traffic lights and bedlam, to see a backdrop of mountains and ocean rather than buildings – trees, rivers and forests rather than asphalt and concrete.
Since 2009, I have been developing my own technique of Pointillism as was created in the 19th Century by the French artists Georges Seurat, Paul Signac and others. I have also been influenced by Aboriginal dot painting for which I have a deep admiration as I have a deep respect for First Nation’s people, their culture, music and art and their connection to Country upon which we all stand.
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I love experimenting often through mistakes and accidents, trial and error and through the courage to explore. My entire focus is to attempt to capture the essence of nature, particularly trees, skies, waterways and abstraction of all of this. I follow a simple recipe in every painting: correction of composition and balance of colour. I work in watercolour, pastel, oil and acrylic as well as black ink, graphite and coloured pencil drawings.
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I have exhibited in Bellingen, Urunga, Coffs Harbour and Sydney in some exhibitions of which I have received awards including Best Painting Award in the 2022 Coffs Coast Art Prize.
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My home is my studio/gallery located in the lovely village of Valla Beach near Nambucca Heads in Gumbaynggirr Country. My constant companions are my two dogs and the birds in my garden.
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I hope you enjoy my paintings as much as I enjoy painting them.