to be as an artist. It is this idea of seeing something strange or beautiful in the everyday that has encouraged Nicole to observe the world around her very differently. Nicole keeps lots of notebooks in which she writes down small strands of ideas; it could be something from a piece of music she’s heard, a quote from something she’s been reading, or an idea from an object she’s picked up on telephone and so they took when I feel most aware of the the beach. These thumbnails and aide memoirs may evoke the decision to move to the incredible environment I’m an idea for a drawing or a north coast of Cornwall. surrounded by’. series of illustrations. ‘I am Daniel, Nicole’s husband, had Apart from the natural always looking; I take lots very strong family links to environment itself, one of of photographs and make North Cornwall and within a Nicole’s major influences sketches of the things I see – short space of time, they had has been the artist Candy often they get forgotten, but bought a house and had set Jernigan and, in particular, the interesting stuff I keep up a studio in St Mabyn. her book ‘Evidence: The Art seeing again and again and Nicole was immediately of Candy Jernigan’. She is an finally that becomes a piece drawn to the starkness of artist who tries to find beauty of work’. the north coast and moor, and strangeness in the most The materials Nicole uses particularly in winter, and her mundane of things in her to create her extraordinary striking work bears testimony surroundings; Nicole is sure illustrations are, in her words, that, having encountered to the resilience of nature being relentlessly battered by Jernigan’s view of the world, it ‘minimal’. Super fine Rotring changed the way she wanted pens, 6B pencils on draft or the elements and surviving. Of one of her well known collections of illustrations: ‘The Wind Pruned Trees’ she says, ‘I loved creating my wind pruned trees series as they feature throughout the landscape in Cornwall. They create the most beautiful silhouettes and really capture the impact of the relentless weather along this coastline. Winters can be long and dark, but I find that the most inspiring time of the year 40
We welcome your stories and photographs