Welcome to the About Page.
I imagine you have two questions on your mind: who’s the guy running this site and why should I care?
Who's this Guy?
I’m Nick Nichols. I'm a painter, photographer, designer, and the creator of Nona Bird, a creative education company.
I've loved creating things since I was a kid. Convince me that I'm creating something and I'll spend weeks on it. I also love to get lost and wander around exploring, finding something new and unfamiliar, searching for small adventures. Convince me that we're on an adventure and my bag is packed full of snacks and a camera, and I'm ready to roll.
Eventually, I pursued a profession in graphic design and art direction. Lots of creativity, not much adventure. So I packed my snacks, camera in hand, and moved to Japan to work for the Japanese government. It wasn't the most artistic endeavor but it was an adventure -- an adventure that kept me abroad for over decade living and traveling through Europe, Asia, and South & Central America.
Now I'm a big kid with a family. I still spend my time creating things and getting lost while searching for small adventures. I just move a little slower, carry more snacks, and have little hands wrapped around mine.
What’s This Site All About?
In short, it's a way to share my work with you. I primarily share my oil paintings because that's what I'm into these days. The oil paintings are mostly portraits and flowers. I love painting people. I love the challenge of creating a person's likeness and the emotion and thrill they get when they see themselves or someone they love in paint. I love painting flowers because I can create a big, fat beautiful mess and not worry that my roses look more like bluebonnets.
I sell my work, but right now I mostly focus on commissioning custom portraits.
I'm always happy to discuss new projects. If you're interested in my work or working on other projects, please contact me.
Why Portraits?
Why portraits? Portraits always have an interesting effect on people. I've painted my family, living and deceased, my friends and their families. The result: tears, baby. Always tears. Everybody's a big wet mess. I'm not exactly sure what it is. Is it simply seeing someone you love in a different light? Is it the unexplainable emotion that a piece of art can stir up? Is it the combination of both? Again, I don't really know. But people are moved, and they're happy. And the family and friends they share with are moved. And everyone's grateful. That reaction from something I've created with my own two hands feels pretty special. And it's something I enjoy sharing with others.
Sign up for discounts +
updates on current work.
I'll send out discounts & updates on current work.
And give notice when custom portraits are available.