Nicole Slater always liked painting, but it wasn’t until the long Covid lockdowns came along that she was able to immerse herself on a scale to match her grand visions and imagination.
With plenty of recent media attention, high-profile clients, cocktail launch parties, da Vinci art brushes ambassadorship and a celebrated exhibition in recent months, you would be forgiven for thinking Nicole Slater is an overnight sensation.
“It’s taken me 20 years to get this point, to the most real, high-end professional level that I’ve ever been,” declares Nicole at her farm menagerie south-east of Melbourne. It’s a rewarding realisation from Nicole, a self-described tomboy who grew up in Cairns, North Queensland, loving an outdoor lifestyle of the beach, horses and sport.
After leaving school, she was diagnosed as dyslexic and decided to go with her strengths, rather than rest on her weaknesses. She focused on her creativity and at the age of 17 was up at 5am every weekend, optimistically driving to the Port Douglas market with her paintings in the back of the car to sell at a stall.
Fast forward 20 years, add two children — Tyla and Jake — and a supportive role in a marriage to a high-profile Rugby League star, it is now Nicole’s time to shine!
Nicole has loved painting since leaving school, but it wasn’t until the extended Covid lockdowns in Melbourne last year that she took the opportunity and decided to get more serious about what had been her passion. Spending many hours in her purpose-built studio at her farm, she became “obsessed” with it. Before she knew it, she had a set of canvases that evolved into the “Stables Collection” that became an acclaimed exhibition at Mitchelton Winery in Nagambie, under the guidance of respected art dealer Adam Knight.
“The Equine series have given me something I’ve never had before,” says Nicole. “I finally gave this collection the time it deserved to be the best it could be. High-quality linen, paint and experience.”
While chatting to Nicole at her farm surrounded by her highly entertaining rescue goats, sheep and horses, I asked if she had ever painted any other subjects. “Always painted animals, never been interested in people,” she says. “Pressure is too much to get people right and I never found that appealing!
“Horses, I’ve known them my whole life. I want to be known worldwide as an equine artist, that’s my goal. I know every muscle, joint, vein. I do believe you should study and know your subject.”
Does a blank canvas scare or excite her? “Definitely excites me. A lot goes into the planning of a blank canvas. I have to make sure I have the right photo, the scale, the negative space on the canvas; I don’t feel the need to fill the whole canvas. If I get the planning right, I should be setting myself up for success.”
When staring at a huge blank canvas, most of us would not know where to start but Nicole always has a plan, starting with a photo as a visual reference point. Once a plan is mapped out, the eye is her preferred place to start, calling it the “soul of the horse”. Then it’s the ears, the nose (muzzle), and the balance of the face that are the priorities and then the rest just falls into place!
“I’m at a point in my career where I’m not so much learning things any more, I’m just getting better and better and perfecting my technique,” adds Nicole.
Is there a part of the horse she finds challenging to paint? “The body is the most challenging as it becomes repetitive and it’s a big scale. It’s an easier part but it becomes more complicated in my head. The eye, muzzle, ears are complex stuff, the mane is all the fun stuff and then I find the body the challenge, so much so that I often procrastinate.”
People often comment on the size of her paintings at her exhibition; you can’t comprehend the scale and detail when viewing them online. Her paintings are huge, sometimes 5mx3m. Nicole puts this love of the big canvas sizes down to her preference for minimalist furnishings and personal choice of one statement piece rather than many small pieces. “I love painting on a huge surface because then I can get right into the detail. I almost find it harder to paint on a small scale!”
People often comment on the size of her paintings at her exhibition; you can’t comprehend the scale and detail when viewing them online. Her paintings are huge, sometimes 5mx3m. Nicole puts this love of the big canvas sizes down to her preference for minimalist furnishings and personal choice of one statement piece rather than many small pieces. “I love painting on a huge surface because then I can get right into the detail. I almost find it harder to paint on a small scale!”
Nicole says the most rewarding experience from her work “comes from taking the journey with the client, taking the photo, getting to know their story, what it means to them, painting it, giving it to them and to see their emotion, see them sometimes cry. That’s the tip of the iceberg, the cherry on top that almost makes you feel like you have a superpower that you’re able to connect someone to something you’ve created — I think that’s the pinnacle.”
Nicole’s family are very supportive and it helps that her art studio at home is separate to the house. After supporting husband Billy for many years of his career, he is now fully supportive of her painting time. “I can be gardening and he’s like ‘hurry up get back to the studio’. He and my dad have always been my biggest believers and supported me in that it was my thing and my passion”.
Billy says: “I see firsthand the drive and commitment Nicole has towards her art. I am extremely proud of my wife.” This is only achievable by good time management, adds Nicole, and “letting go” of some of her “many hats” of things that she has discovered don’t matter so much anymore. “I have to start dedicating more and more time to it (my painting) so therefore I can’t manage everything else, and I’ve had to get better at sharing the load, at delegating.
The phrase “do, dump and delegate” was the best advice Nicole took on to allow her to juggle being a mum, a farm manager, horse breeder, animal rescuer, professional sportsman’s wife, businesswoman and professional artist.
What is next for Nicole? “The future is exciting. I was thinking of having a gallery but not so much anymore. I am thinking of staying high-end, exclusive. I’d love to travel to farms and studs and create intimate experiences from start to finish and not flood the market with my work. I’d like to keep it exclusive.”
“It’s a nice thing to do for a job; when you can come here you’re surrounded by these guys (the goats, sheep, dogs, horses) and then you just feel like this is where I’m supposed to be. I’m really content with where I am and where I’m going at the moment, it’s exciting. This is just the beginning!” EQ
For further information on Nicole Slater Art, visit her website and Instagram.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE TO READ:
‘Troy’ – Bigger than ‘Ben Hur’ – Equestrian Life, January 2022
