art alley

Nicki has always been interested in art. Her grandmother from Wenatchee was an accomplished artist but she passed away when Nicki was a toddler. Nicki grew up in a musical family and devoted her time to mastering the flute and piccolo. Painting with watercolor was a passion she pursued only after her children were born. Over the last 18 years, Nicki has worked hard to learn the necessary watercolor skills by taking classes from local watercolorists and attending many two-day workshops with Kay Barnes, a watercolorist from Woodinville, WA. Flowers and fruit are among the subjects Nicki enjoys painting. She also painted her three grandchildren and hopes to paint all ten in the years to come!

 

Nicki is a member of the Wenatchee Watercolor Society and the Two Rivers Art Gallery. She was the featured artist for the Gallery in September 2014 and 2017 and was chosen to be the artist for the 2015 Washington State Apple Blossom Festival. She was also selected as the winning artist for the 2016 Pybus Market art poster. Nicki has given watercolor workshops at McDee’s Art Center and has taught beginning watercolor classes for adult education at Wenatchee Valley College. Nicki will be the featured artist at Two Rivers Art Gallery in October 2023.

 

Nicki fell in love with the Wenatchee Valley as a little girl while visiting her grandparents whose home was surrounded by an orchard at the base of Saddlerock. The sound of orchard sprinklers and the smell of fruit trees are fond memories that she carries to this day. Nicki was raised in Kirkland and graduated from the school of Nursing at Seattle Pacific University. She moved to Wenatchee to take her first nursing job at the old Deaconess Hospital and the Wenatchee Valley Medical Center, resulting in a nursing career that has spanned more than 30 years. Nicki retired in January 2022 and is now able to devote more of her time to her art again.