Original Art By Nicki Ault - 30 second video

 

Please click on the video above, then click on the icon in the bottom right corner to watch in full screen mode. The video is too tiny otherwise.

Many of these paintings are still available as they are pieces from the latter part of the year. Please email me at nicki.ault@shaw.ca if you have any questions or want more information. Also, if you would like to be added to my email/newsletter list, please let me know.

Happy New Year to you all! May 2021 take a sharp upward turn for us all! Stay safe.

An Unplanned Hiatus and Now a Planned Hiatus

Fading Light

oil on canvas, 36x48 inches

 

I think it would be fair to say I have let my blog slide. 

This has been a year for the history books, has it not? I hope you are safe, healthy and coping through this unprecedented time. Some days I am doing well, some days I am not. I have learned in a health crisis it is best to take one day at a time, not watch the news too much and to limit scrolling on Facebook! My preferred form of pandemic entertainment has been watching comedians on Netflix and YouTube, specifically John Mulaney, Ricky Gervais and also Jerry Seinfeld's Comedians in Cars.

Somehow six months has lapsed since writing a blog post. Even before the pandemic hit I was considering winding my blog down. It has been a great source of joy over the last ten years and it has certainly been a great motivator in producing work - especially in my early painting days. I often can't believe this blog spans a decade. A decade. Wow.

Things shift and change, however. New ways of doing things evolve, lessons are learned and hopefully one becomes wiser. Over the last several months, despite the brain-fog of the pandemic, I have found a bit of clarity. It is time for me to officially declare that I need to make some adjustments, which really have already happened, but without word from me and I apologize for that.

I am deeply grateful for those who have kept tabs on this blog and who have followed my journey as an artist up until this point. I find myself wondering where I would be right now if it weren't for this forum. Without it, I am not sure I would have established traction for my paintings. I now find myself in the amazing position of having a career in art and my energy needs to be focused on creating it rather than writing about it on multiple platforms. I have decided to pause my blog and I have also decided to turn off my Daily Paintworks page. I have been procrastinating these decisions for awhile, but now that the words are written, it feels right.

I still love my art profiles on both Instagram and Facebook and I love interacting regularly there. My website is the very best place to check out new and available work - I am so happy I built it. Seventeen new paintings will be uploaded over the weekend! Also, please consider signing up for my newsletters at the bottom of any page of my website as I will be sending one out soon. I envision them becoming a quarterly occurrence, but I have already decided that they will not be held to a strict schedule and they will always be a bit different. For those of you who receive these blog posts as emails, I hope you will consider going to my website to subscribe to my newsletter as I am unable to transfer you over myself. For ease, go to the bottom of this page on my website to subscribe.

Drama By the Service Road

oil on canvas, 24x24 inches

Sepia Light

oil on canvas, 16x20 inches

Under the Canopy 

oil on canvas, 48x48 inches

 

I may show up here once in awhile or maybe someday I will reinvent my blog through my website. Who knows! The possibilities are endless and I am excited to see where the next ten years go.

Thank you for all of your support. Let's stay connected!

~ Nicki

Liquid Light 

 

oil on canvas, 30x48 inches

 

 

Light of Lights

 

oil on canvas, 20x20 inches

Great Start to 2020!

High River

24 x 36"

oil on canvas

© Nicki Ault, 2020
available at Webster Galleries

 Fading Light
36x48"
oil on canvas
© Nicki Ault, 2020
available at Webster Galleries

Well hello! Many apologies for my absence. 

I have been painting LOTS and as a result January was a blur. I was on a mission to get several large paintings done for Webster Galleries in Calgary and then deliver them in person in early February. Mission accomplished! On top of that Assiniboia Gallery had a rush on 10x10's so I painted more to replenish their inventory. Same thing happened with Darrell Bell Gallery and the 8x8's.

Here is a list of the work I pulled off in January to give you an idea of why that month was a blur:

As soon as I returned from the road-trip to Calgary, I got down to business and got a couple of pieces ready for a new show at Darrell Bell Gallery which is on now!

The painting in the lower left corner is mine, the grid of 8x8's is full and gorgeous, plus you will see this brand new piece:

Clear Northern Light

24x36"

oil on canvas

© Nicki Ault, 2020

available at Darrell Bell Gallery

The opening has come and gone, but the show will be up for a few weeks, so please check it out. The invitation mentions big changes, so here is what's happening: the street level gallery has now merged with the fourth floor gallery and all art and operations are officially in one place! As a result, if you need any 8x8's in the future, be sure to go up the elevators to the gallery in the Canada Building.

On top of all of that, SaskGalleries just launched a new promotional video and, much to my surprise and excitement, one of my paintings was featured! It's a fun, high energy video showing original art incorporated into everyday life. View it here and be sure to have your sound on. Watch for my painting "The Golden Hour and the Old Boat Dock" being hung at the end of the video.

Finally, when you have a minute, pop over to my website, www.nickiault.com , which has recently been updated with all of the newest work and available inventory. I'd love it if you would sign up for my emails/newsletter, too. I still haven't sent any yet, but I will at some point!

Thanks for catching up with me!

A Dream View

A Dream View

12" x 12"

oil on panel

© Nicki Ault, 2019

sold (commission)

.

This was an honour to paint. The sister of a dear, dear friend, who I have known and loved all the way back to elementary school and who was the MC at my wedding, contacted me about a Christmas gift for him. She wanted to give him and his partner a painting that featured the stunning view from their recently completed dream home. I haven't seen the house or view in person, so I was nervous about getting the elements right and making sure it was recognizable. Thankfully I have now received messages from them both and the painting was a hit 💖.

This is officially the first time I have attempted mountains and it was a fun challenge! I now look forward to visiting these long-time friends in Invermere someday and maybe bringing my paints along to explore this non-prairie landscape.

Welcome 2020!

"Be strong. Be proud. Be what you love."

I think this will be my motto for 2020.

My sister gave me this sparkly card for my birthday in August. Inside it reads "Be your passions. Be your beliefs. But most of all... be you. And this will be an amazing year."

A new year always feels exciting to me. I like January 1st a whole lot more than the grand finale of December 31st. I'm just ready to get on with it.

I have to say, 2019 was a good year for me in my little art world and I'm excited about my plans for this coming year. I hope to take more risks in my painting - I am worried I'm settling in a little too comfortably. I'm thinking about structuring my studio time differently... like setting aside one to two hours first thing in the morning to sketch, play, journal and experiment. Or perhaps it would be easier to set aside one full day each week for that. Not sure. I'll be flexible until a new schedule feels right.

On the flip-side of a great year in art, the personal side of life has been really sucky, so I definitely feel happy to close the door on 2019. Buh bye. Between my son's surgery and rehab earlier in the year and my own perfect storm of health troubles, 2019 was a rough go. Almost-constant pain, among many other things, tried hard to break my spirit. Slowly things are getting sorted, but most importantly whatever is going on doesn't appear to be one big scary thing but a bunch of small minor things all at once. We were also hit hard with news separate from this, but I won't say more out of respect for the privacy of those in my life.

All I can say is, THANK GOODNESS FOR ART! If you do not have a creative outlet in your life of any kind, do yourself a favour and discover one. Your overall well-being will thank you. Art makes me strong. It makes me proud. And it is definitely what I love.

Old Road, New Puddles

Old Road, New Puddles

10" x 10"

oil on canvas

© Nicki Ault, 2019

sold

A lot has been said here in this little canvas: the texture of the grass, the distant water in the field, the overgrown road, the puddles in the ruts, the storm clouds that have just passed through. I hope it tells a story to you and, if it does, I would be curious to know, what is that story?

Happy Holidays to All!

© Nicki Ault, 2019

Light of Lights

Light of Lights

20 x 20

oil on canvas

© Nicki Ault, 2019

I just realized how long it has been since I wrote a blog post. 

Open Studio was a huge success! It was such a busy day, but I wasn't feeling well so it took the fun out of it for me. The bug I felt coming on that day actually didn't fully develop. I thought I dodged it until the evening of Black Friday six days later. Wham! It took me down hard and then I didn't leave my bed or couch for about nine days straight. If anyone needs any advice on small claims court issues, I can probably help since, for some reason when I was conscious, I got hooked on the People's Court. Ha!

I finally got to the studio the other day and got back to work on two commissions that must get done ASAP. I also worked on some new 8x8's for Darrell Bell Gallery (which have now been delivered) and as they were drying I worked on this new beauty.

I have been thinking a lot about life's difficulties: illnesses, relationship troubles, job losses, strained economies, political turmoil, etc. It can be overwhelming. I worry for my kids and what awaits them in our suffering world. The best I can do is try to be kind and compassionate and try to paint images that I feel are beautiful, hopeful and bring light.

That is what this painting is about. I would love your thoughts. Do you see the hope in it?

“Learn to light a candle in the darkest moments of someone’s life. 

Be the light that helps others see; it is what gives life its deepest significance.” 

― Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart

Lone Star

Lone Star

48 x 36"

oil on canvas

© Nicki Ault, 2019

available at Assiniboia Gallery

Big. Beautiful. Brand new!

Gentle Comes The Night

Gentle Comes The Night

30 x 40"

oil on canvas

© Nicki Ault, 2019

sold at Assiniboia Gallery

Art Now Saskatchewan Fine Art Fair was such a great weekend for my art! Assiniboia Gallery swapped this painting out with the Waskesiu River that sold the night before at the gala opening. "Gentle Comes The Night" promptly sold later that morning!