How I became a full time artist

The last art class I took was in high school. I grew up loving art and took as many art classes as my school had. 

For AP Art Class I did a study on how art materials were made

I even painted 2 murals in my high school.

But when I got to college, my school wouldn’t let me take art classes unless I was an art major. I used to say I stopped making art after high school, but as I look back I see all the different forms my creativity took. 

Some major foreshadowing here 😅

I started my first business when I was 18. It was a handbag brand called SmartPurse. I taught myself how to sew and designed purses that let you use your phone through a plastic pocket. I learned about pattern-making, color theory, manufacturing, graphic design, and website design. I hadn't set out to collect these skills, but I sure earned those girl scout badges. 

One summer while interning in NY, I decided to make a purse a day for the whole summer. I made 55 purses in 55 days. I took photos of the world around me and turned each into a purse that matched. 

I essentially lived out of Mood Fabrics that summer and made my childhood Project Runway dreams come true. 

Swimming in a sea of purses

When I graduated, I co-founded an afterschool program to teach kids how to code. I did that for several years and we sold it in 2019. Art faded a bit to the background during that time, though I did all of our graphic design.

The all girls coding program I started! Unicorns were big that summer 🦄

After The Coding Space, I solo traveled around Europe and Southeast Asia for 8 months. I took a 1 hour watercolor class in Malaysia and immediately fell in love with it. I did some painting throughout that trip but not on a regular basis.

My very first watercolor at a paint and sip (minus the sip) class in Malaysia

After my travels, I lived in LA for a year. At one point I led an arts and crafts workshop at a conference where I taught people how to make friendship bracelets and paint pet rocks. Then I moved back to NY right before Covid and hosted a workshop on how to mend clothes.  

During Covid I moved home to be with family in PA and started watercoloring again. I was going through some major health issues at the time, and I found it to be very therapeutic.

Enter a very abstract era of my watercolors…lots of feels.

As I started healing, I worked on a bit of fun climate art.

Can we talk about how cute that croissant friend is? Maybe I should make more of them hehe

When I moved back to NY, I landed a job at a climate startup. On the side, I decided to paint a watercolor a day for 100 days. That’s when my whole world changed.

Watercolors went from being an occasional hobby to something I did everyday. My paintings quickly took off on Twitter, and I decided to quit my job within 4 months. 

The first few months after I began painting full-time, I shied away from calling myself an artist. I hadn’t taken an art class since high school! I am not ~professionally~ trained! Major imposter syndrome hit. But the fact of the matter set in: I was making a living off my art. So I finally started calling myself an artist.

Now, it’s the coolest title I’ve ever had. Little Nicole would be so proud. I get to research climate concepts and find ways to paint them in simple, beautiful ways. I work with incredible climate organizations to help them communicate the impactful work they’re doing. I’m even making a coloring book about clean energy. I’ve never felt more creatively fulfilled! 

Bonus footage of little Nicole. I still make that face when I paint btw.

Assorted crafts from the archives. Earth day t-shirt I designed in high school. A peanut butter fabric I designed and sewed into a tote. A paper doll renaissance version of myself from middle school

I hope this is a friendly reminder that anyone can be an artist. My art “career” started with a fun challenge to paint for 100 days. I wasn’t trying to become an artist, I just wanted to do something that would bring me joy each day. 

I think trusting my curiosity and giving myself the permission to follow it as a daily practice allowed me to discover this new chapter of my life. 

Tips for pursuing creativity in your life:

• Set a big goal. Create a 30 day challenge for making art daily or come up with an idea for a project you want to do by the end of the year. This helps form a habit of following your curiosity every single day. 

• Do Morning Pages. This is from the book The Artist’s Way. The idea is to start each day by journaling 3 pages.  

• Meditate. Getting quiet helps tap into your intuition and spark new ideas. 

• Set weekly and daily goals. I set 3 weekly goals for my business and art. I do one newsletter, one coloring book page, and one regular watercolor. When I do my morning pages I pick one goal to work on that day. 

• Surround yourself with other creatives. Try to find local art classes or meetups to get more in touch with your art community. 

Ways to support my art:

• Buy yourself something from my shop- my book, a t-shirt, a mug, a print, a onesie. Whatever your little heart may desire.

• Sign up for the waitlist of my coloring book about clean energy here.

• I’m open for contract work or commissions. I help climate organizations simplify their messaging into pretty art!

Ok my climate cuties! That’s enough of my life story for today 😅