Janet Nickle

ARTIST STATEMENT

Holding a stick of pastel is holding pure color and light in your hand ...

And It is these characteristics of the medium that lend themselves so well in capturing the constant changes in color and light of the coastal environment ... not just a pictorial representation of the subject be it landscape, seascape or skyscape, but with colors and shapes and forms and textures moving from light to dark evoking an emotional response ... sharing that brief moment ... gifting and sharing with the viewer an understanding about what in each particular piece catching a moment of time and location so moved me as the artist to want to capture it on paper ... Capturing the nuances of these changes and the contrasts of colors becomes the direction for how the colors are layered to emulate the effects of light and moisture so much a part of the environment where it’s water, water everywhere!

Be there now, seeing what I’m seeing, feeling what I’m feeling ... to embrace and celebrate this incredibly beautiful environment of pure land, sea and sky as I do!

BIOGRAPHY

Always a “Thalassophile” at Heart! … My Story … Janet Nickle

FYI: The definition of a “THALASSOPHILE” is a person who loves the ocean!

I can finally call myself a “local” as I have lived in this most beautiful coastal

environment for over twenty years after relocating from the hectic pace of the

Maryland/DC area. I had always dreamed of living by the ocean and feel so very

fortunate to now have that dream realized thanks to my husband who introduced

me to the Crystal Coast of North Carolina. It was his initial experience of living in

close proximity to the coast during his career in the Marine Corps at Cherry Point

in Havelock NC that fueled his desire to return once again to live there

permanently. After finishing my graduate program in Art Education at the Maryland Institute

College of Art (MICA) in Baltimore MD, we made the move and now call Morehead

City “HOME!”

I have approximately twenty years' experience teaching Art and Graphic Design to

students in a variety of educational settings from private to the public sector. My

initial teaching experience began with Adult Education. After graduating with my

undergraduate degree in Art Education, I became a full-time art teacher teaching

a variety of grades during my career starting first in high school, then moving into

Special Education first through eighth, and ultimately spending my final years in

the classroom in a public middle school in Onslow County.

I am now enjoying the retired life, spending endless hours at the beach, and

working in my studio creating ART! I volunteer at the Aquarium in Pine Knolls

Shores and taught therapeutic art classes to individuals in the rehab programs at

the Peer Recovery Center of Hope Mission as a volunteer through a grant from the

Arts Council of Carteret County. I have recently been involved with the program

“Special Hands” assisting adult participants in creating unique art projects in clay

designed and facilitated by members of the Carolina Artist Gallery.

Being an active member of local arts organizations has been a part of my artistic

journey starting with the Prince George’s Artist Association while residing in

Maryland. I served as the PGAAvPresident for several years responsible for

facilitating and participating in their annual member shows. I received several

awards in these exhibitions for my work in soft pastels, my favorite medium in

which to work then and now! After moving to the Crystal Coast I joined the Arts Council of Carteret County and have been actively exhibiting in numerous shows sponsored by the Council. I am a

resident artist in both the Carolina Artist Gallery in Morehead City and the Mattie

King Gallery in Beaufort. I am a member of several other arts organizations

including the Pastel Society of North Carolina for which I am currently serving as

the PSNC Program Chairman, the Wilmington Art Association, and the Wildlife

Artists of the Carolinas also actively taking part in their juried exhibitions.

The focus of my art has become eclectic with the varied themes that now inform

my body of work completed especially after our move to this beautiful coastal

environment. I have become quite enamored with the surrounding landscapes and

seascapes, their beauty enhanced by the ever-changing colors of the skies as the

light moves from early to late. Where previously figures were the main focus of my

work particularly figures on the beach as the beach environment is a natural

location for the relaxed human form to be observed inconspicuously, I am now more

interested in capturing the beauty and mood of the local landscapes, seascapes and

skyscapes! But first and foremost my favorite lifelong subject continues to be

celebrating the beauty and spirit of horses on canvas and paper starting with the

ponies of Chincoteague and now to our beloved herd on Shackleford Banks.

I am delighted to have returned to using soft pastels as they really are my

favorite medium for the joy of expression. Nothing like holding those sticks of

pure pigment and building up layer upon layer of beautiful colors on that paper!

Focusing on refining my skills with soft pastels has certainly been a successful and

positive redirection of both choice of themes and use of mediums in my artwork.

The awards and recognition that have been a result of having begun intensive work

with pastels includes the following: 2024 Pure Color International On-line

Exhibition; From the Mountains to the Sea Statewide Exhibition; Piedmont Pastel

Society Award; Southern Florida Pastel Society National On-line Exhibition;

Southeastern Pastel Society 2025 Virtual International Exhibition.

Art has always been a big part of my life starting at an early age and spending

uninterrupted productive time in my studio continues to be the main goal in

my daily existence. If I’m not actually physically working on a piece of art I am still

mentally involved with thinking about it or planning on how I will approach working

on it or problem-solving any issues that have become an obstacle to its completion.The journey is the BEST part of the destination when creating art and I love the

challenge!

I can honestly say I am HOOKED!