Nicola was awarded a bachelor of arts degree at Leeds Polytechnic (UK) back in 1980s. As well as continuing to paint and receive private commissions, she has since worked in the museum industry making props for themed exhibition, she has designed shop display and interiors for shops and restaurants. More recently, she has taught Creative Writing for the Open university where she attained her Doctorate in Philosophy in 2019.
'Beauty can be found in every aspect of life – in nature, in the city, in the digital world, in our own selves. Yet this beauty is fragile, it is beset with dangerous predators. I have seen these predators at work, watched, helplessly as they destroy all that I value: my young daughter died after reading suicide pages online, the natural world is under attack from big industry; mental health is compromised by the super-fast modern world with all its unrealistic aspirations. And the old enemies still abound: racists, misogynists, bullies .... I can still see and appreciate beauty: my paintings celebrate that beauty but the shadows are always present.'