Nicola Firth

Nicola was born in Kenya in 1970 and moved to South Africa in 1979. She was fortunate to be raised on a farm and educated in KwaZulu-Natal. At the age of 15 I realised that art was a subject she really enjoyed and in which she showed some talent. She has never looked back.

After completing a BA Fine Art degree at the University of Pietermaritzburg, majoring in ceramics, she decided to travel the world. For years she worked both overseas and within Africa, travelling to exotic destinations and becoming a wife and mother of two. It was only in 2007 that she found the time to pursue my life-long dream of painting.

Nicola currently attends classes with Pascale Chandler in Durban, where her preferred medium is oil painting. She uses my own photography from various trips around Southern Africa as a reference, typically scenes from the Transkei and Mozambique and weekends spent in the beautiful KwaZulu-Natal Midlands. She also gains inspiration from daily South African life and from the wonderful artists she has met since she started painting again. She is happy to experiment and is currently exploring the medium of alcohol inks

“Few people are lucky enough to be able to do what they love. I am at my most content when I am feeling inspired in my peaceful white studio, brush in hand and a large blank canvas on my easel.”