Valerie Nichol - Visual Artist
Valerie Nichol discovered art on a trip to the Yukon. Drawn to some sculptures by an artist from Baffin Is., and being overwhelmed by the landscape, she returned home and began painting and sculpting. Valerie studied drawing and sculpture at London Ont.'s Fanshawe College after which she was accepted into the Ont. College of Art in Toronto. When studying the old masters, the technique of glazing - the layering of one semi- transparent layer of paint on top of each other became a fascination. The love of clay and textures grew into acrylic textures using moulding paste. Peaks, crevices and movement formed not unlike those of water surfaces, earth, snow or bark formations. “The one element that sculpture never had was color. Acrylic gel allows the color to seem wet and jump off the canvas. I love color!”
Valerie has been showing paintings in galleries across Ontario for the past thirty years, the highlight of these being a solo exhibition at the Art Gallery of Algoma in Sault Ste. Marie. She is currently represented by Gallery de Boer in Owen Sound and the Art Gallery of Hamilton.
Her pieces are part of many corporate collections including "Top Performance" in
Amsterdam, Netherlands and the Nicol Insurance Co. (no relation to Valerie) in Owen Sound.
Valerie's paintings also hang in several public buildings including the C.N. building Montreal, Quebec, the Ontario Lottery Corporation, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, the Ministry of Community and Social Services Building, North Bay, and Grace United Church in Thornbury Ontario.
Valerie has been showing paintings in galleries across Ontario for the past thirty years, the highlight of these being a solo exhibition at the Art Gallery of Algoma in Sault Ste. Marie. She is currently represented by Gallery de Boer in Owen Sound and the Art Gallery of Hamilton.
Her pieces are part of many corporate collections including "Top Performance" in
Amsterdam, Netherlands and the Nicol Insurance Co. (no relation to Valerie) in Owen Sound.
Valerie's paintings also hang in several public buildings including the C.N. building Montreal, Quebec, the Ontario Lottery Corporation, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, the Ministry of Community and Social Services Building, North Bay, and Grace United Church in Thornbury Ontario.