As promised, here’s part two of my Q&A with Nicole Slater: artist, photographer, wife, mother and all-round gorgeous lady…
SB: What excites you about the art industry right now? Nicole: I find social media has made art Industry that much more interesting for everybody around the world, even if they are not that interested in it. Normally you would have to go to gallery’s to see paintings or look up someone that you would be interested in on the Internet. Nowadays you can explore and discover people you didn’t even know existed in the art world just by looking on your Instagram, Twitter or Facebook, its definitely encourages me to keep going and gives me lots of motivation.
SB: What is the best art/design/style advice you’ve ever been given?
Nicole: I met up with David Bromley One afternoon in his gallery on Chapel Street I spoke to him for quite a while about my New York auditions (Agroa Galley). After having a long chat I was advised not to put all my eggs in one basket. Although it seemed great to jump right in and be represented by a gallery in New York, I made the decision after speaking with him not to go ahead with it. I’d rather spend more time here in Australia establishing my name here first. Then I might go to New York myself and see multiple galleries in person with a better portfolio behind me.
SB: What is the most challenging moment you’ve experienced in your career so far?
Nicole: Definitely the New York audition. I was approached by the gallery to put in an application so after waiting a few months I decided to go ahead and audition. I produced five paintings, even though I decided not to go ahead with it, it was the most challenging and exciting moment when I did get accepted into the gallery.
SB: Describe a textural feature in your home and office and tell me why you chose it and what you love about it?
Nicole: We have a small Home in Richmond so our office space isn’t very big but we had a solid custom-made red gum timber table made with it’s natural edge. Placed up against the white walls it really stands out. Like I said, I’m obsessed with copper at the moment so I designed a painting to go with our copper lamp. The painting also means a lot to us as my husband Billy and I went to Africa and did a Safari Tour. We were able to get out the car and walk up to a cheetah and this painting represents the last photo that I took of the cheetah as it was a metre away from us. The painting reflects the copper in different shades of light it’s really stunning, it looks its best at nighttime as you can see lots of texture.
SB: As a young Mum is career and family a challenge? How do you make it work for you?
Nicole: I find myself extremely lucky to have a husband that is able to put up with my craziness and my work schedules. I change what I’m doing week to week, whether it’s doing photo shoots at my studio in Richmond, painting being a mum or a footy wife. I don’t get to go into the studio every single day. I don’t have a 9-to-5 schedule and we don’t have the luxury of having any family here to mind the kids if I want to go down to the studio. Because my husband plays professional rugby league and represents his country, state and club, much of our time gets consumed, so I don’t have the luxury to put my business first. I just do it whenever I can fit things in. I know the footy won’t last forever so I’m sure I’ll have a lot more time in a few more years and painting is something I will do for the rest of my life. This industry allows me to be flexible, I find I don’t put the pressure on myself to try and produce a painting every week. Mentally I have to be ready when I’m going to paint otherwise I’m just wasting a canvas. I find my experience in life and being able to travel a bit that gives me motivation to paint.