Introducing nicole - the artist
As you are scrolling through my website, you might be wondering… who the person is behind MADE BY NICOLE?
My name is Nicole Thornton and I am a self-taught black artist based in London, United Kingdom.
I have received a lot of questions from friends, family and strangers about what made me decide to pick up my paint brush and start MADE BY NICOLE… so I thought writing this blog post would be the perfect way to explain my story and connect with you all on a more personal level!
Initially, I had no plans on becoming an artist. Instead, I had aspirations to become a city lawyer and dedicated a lot of time and effort to pursue this ambition. However, after completing two vacation schemes at two prestigious commercial law firms, I learned that my heart was no longer yearning to continue down this career path.
This realisation occurred during the global pandemic in 2020 (which I think, put a lot of things into perspective for all of us!). To occupy my spare time whilst stuck indoors, I experimented with acrylic paint and eventually found it hard to put the paint brush down! This led to the birth of my Silhouette Series. I showed my first few paintings, including Less Is More, Don’t Touch My Hair and Bold, with friends and family which led to my first sale and commission! I then had a lightbulb moment and decided to showcase my artwork on Instagram which led to the birth of MADE BY NICOLE. It had been eight long years since I had last painted but it felt so natural. I quickly learnt that creativity is not something you forget – it is embedded within you.
The only artistic subject I studied at school was Art & Design in 2011 and 2012. I thoroughly enjoyed the subject – it served as my creative outlet whilst studying a wide range of GCSEs. Whilst studying my BA History degree at university, I created four tonal drawings on an ad hoc basis, again as a way to distract my mind from my assignments and 12,000-word dissertation! (See images below!)
Personally, when I create a piece of art, I forget about everything else in the world and find myself focussed solely on creating. For me it is quite an intimate experience with myself. I easily lose the track of time and sometimes forget to eat when in the thick of it! This is what I genuinely love about being an artist – it has always been my escape, stress reliever and solace.
My Instagram account organically grew and I received a lot of positive feedback from a wide range of people. I was contacted by several art curators, one of whom worked at the Van Gogh Art Gallery in Madrid, (leading to my first exhibition in Paris – click here to read more!). This encouraged me to push myself to create this website to properly showcase and sell my artwork to a wider audience… one of the best decisions I’ve made!
I have sold artwork across the UK and in the US. The feeling I get from knowing people genuinely see the beauty in and value of my artwork is truly indescribable. I am so grateful. I have also completed a number of commissions for customers who now have my artwork on display in their homes. Having strangers who I have never met in person trust my creativity and vision enough to bring their ideas to life on canvas means so much to me. Nicole Thornton of January 2020 would have never guessed I would be in this position almost year later. Made By Nicole has truly exceeded my expectations for the first year and I cannot wait to see what is in store for my business in the years to come!
My journey has taught me how important it is to do what brings you pure joy and happiness! I hope you feel inspired to do what makes you happy after reading this blog. Always make time to do what you love, don’t give up and stay true to yourself.
I’m incredibly grateful for your continued support… my journey is only getting started and I thank you for being on this journey with me! Thank you all for helping me realise my dream of becoming an artist and turning it into a reality!
Nicky x
