Laura Nicholson
July 2023
Artsbridge celebrates its 30th year as an art organization! July continues with our Vice-President, Laura Nicholson. Laura is a dedicated and dependable member of the Artsbridge Board. She has been running our Member’s Show beautifully for the past five years; both in-person and online when needed. This past year brought a collaborative effort with New Hope Arts to create the combined members’ show, Art Across the River, held at Prallsville Mills. When Laura is not hiking, biking, or camping, she paints scenes in watercolor with the Artsbridge River Rats. Laura’s career and passion began in science which lends itself to her love for the outdoors, as an active explorer and, capturing nature with paintbrushes.
Artistic Statement
“Nature fascinates and inspires me. Watching a beautiful sunset, or frogs in a backyard pond, are equally enjoyable. After retiring from a career in geology, and with my two children now grown, I’ve found more time for art. Plein air painting was a natural choice. For the past decade, I’ve enjoyed the camaraderie and artistic challenges of painting outdoors with the Artsbridge River Rats. Largely self-taught, I continue to experiment with different artistic media and techniques.
In my landscape paintings, I choose locations that are familiar to me. My goal is to capture the essence of a scene and evoke a “sense of place” and intimacy in the observer. In deciding what to paint, I’m drawn to shapes and textures rather than color. Lately, I have been using a combination of oil pastel and watercolor. I typically complete my work in one or two sessions and am pleased if the result looks loose and spontaneous.
In contrast to my landscape paintings, I enjoy doing detailed pencil drawings of natural objects. I collect rocks, shells, feathers, fossils, dead bugs, owl pellets, and more…so I am never short of subject matter.
After several decades of computer work, I prefer to limit my time on the computer and social media.”
Artistic Statement
Nature fascinates and inspires me. Watching a beautiful sunset, or frogs in a backyard pond, are equally enjoyable. After retiring from a career in geology, and with my two children now grown, I’ve found more time for art. Plein air painting was a natural choice. For the past decade, I’ve enjoyed the camaraderie and artistic challenges of painting outdoors with the Artsbridge River Rats. Largely self-taught, I continue to experiment with different artistic media and techniques.
In my landscape paintings, I choose locations that are familiar to me. My goal is to capture the essence of a scene and evoke a “sense of place” and intimacy in the observer. In deciding what to paint, I’m drawn to shapes and textures rather than color. Lately I have been using a combination of oil pastel and watercolor. I typically complete my work in one or two sessions, and am pleased if the result looks loose and spontaneous.
In contrast to my landscape paintings, I enjoy doing detailed pencil drawings of natural objects. I collect rocks, shells, feathers, fossils, dead bugs, owl pellets and more…so I am never short of subject matter.
After several decades of computer work, I prefer to limit my time on the computer and social media.
Bio
Laura Nicholson is an artist and retired geologist, working in a variety of artistic media. A lifelong resident of the Delaware Valley, her artwork has been exhibited and sold at the Phillips Mill Annual Juried Art Exhibition, the annual Artsbridge Members’ Exhibition and other local venues. Laura is a member of the Board of Directors for Artsbridge in Stockton, NJ and serves as Vice President and Exhibits Chair. In 2020, she self-published a book of poetry, “Summer Haiku”, with accompanying nature-inspired drawings.
The Farm Store, Terhune
Sun on Shallow Water
Live Oak by the Marsh
House by the Marsh
Delaware River Ice
Autumn Zinnias
