Nicola Warner

 

ABOVE: Onsen gold – 520x520mm – oil pastel

The Art of Coming Full Circle: Nicola Warner’s Journey to the Easel

For Auckland-born artist Nicola Warner, the path to a creative career wasn’t a straight line – it was a scenic route. Though she is now an award-winning pastelist, her journey involved a law degree, a stint in interior design, and a life-long love affair with words before she finally claimed the “hallowed title” of artist.

A Self-Taught Evolution

Nicola describes herself as a mixture of self-taught with “lots of input.” Her formal training is unconventional, rooted in local pastel classes and workshops rather than a traditional art school. For years, her creative soul simmered in the background while she raised a family and explored other avenues.

“Throughout my schooling, I was an all-rounder… encouraged to pursue my skill with words, so I got a law degree,” Nicola shares. While the law degree proved useful, her true calling was found in the quiet moments. “While my children napped after lunch, I taught myself to draw.”

Now that her family is grown up, Nicola enjoys getting away on road trips with her husband, Glen, and she is completely and joyfully addicted to coffee. “We have regular coffee dates, and it doesn’t take too much convincing for me to throw in a few extra cafe trips. We live by the beach and spend a lot of time down there, especially in summer. Family is still at the core of my life. I’m a mum of five and now a grandma, so there’s often someone to catch up with or feed. I was lucky to be a stay-at-home mum for many years and worked in the background of my husband’s building business. As the kids got older, I studied interior design and started my own business, Island House Design. While I don’t do a lot of design work these days (too busy painting, being a grandma etc.) I still enjoy the occasional project. The best ones are when I get to work alongside Glen. If you come across us on a coffee date, we’ll often be waving our hands about, ‘drawing’ on the table with our fingers and having animated creative chats.”

Capturing the “Juicy” Light

Living by the beach and fuelled by road trips, Nicola finds her inspiration in the dramatic play of light and colour across the New Zealand landscape. She describes herself as both a colourist and an expressionist, pouring feeling into every piece.

“‘Look at the light’ has rolled off my lips so many times that my husband says it now too,” she laughs. For Nicola, the goal isn’t just to replicate a scene, but to solve the “painting puzzle” – using sticks of dry pigment to create the illusion of light through bold, “juicy” mark-making.

Success and Ambition

Recent years have seen Nicola’s career skyrocket. After joining the Pastel Artists of New Zealand (PANZ), she began earning accolades that validated her hard work:

• 2024: Awarded the ‘Impressions – Unison Cup’ (Supreme Award) at the Purely Pastel Exhibition.

• 2025: A massive debut at Art in the Park, showcasing her largest body of work to date.

• 2025: Recognition on the world stage with acceptance into the IAPS (International Association of Pastel Societies) online exhibition.

Despite these wins, she remains ambitious. She is currently working toward becoming a Master Pastelist and has her sights set on the prestigious Pastel 100 competition in the United States.

The Balancing Act

Like many creatives, Nicola’s biggest hurdles are the practicalities of life: time, motivation, and the ever-present “admin.” Yet the easel remains her place of restoration. “I can stand at my easel for hours and at the end I feel like it’s filled me up instead of emptied me out.”

Currently, she is preparing for the 2026 Art in the Park and helping organise the PANZ national convention in Orewa. Whether she’s exploring “colour rabbit holes” in her studio or performing live demos for an audience, Nicola Warner has found her rhythm – and she’s only just getting started.

For new artists, Nicola says: “Give yourself time and celebrate each new skill learnt. Keep some of your early paintings, especially if they’re particularly bad (!) because you’ll be able to look back and see how far you’ve come. Join an art group so you can learn from people in front of you and encourage newer people behind you. Be nice to yourself, BE yourself and never give up.”

Orewa Framing Studio carries her work which has also ended up in UK, Germany, Netherlands, US, Switzerland and New Zealand.