After four years at Art College, the last three spent carving large sculptures in wood and stone, Nicola Beattie graduated in 1990 with a degree in Sculpture from Wimbledon School of Art, London.  She then spent the following fifteen years working solely in wood, followed by working in stone, marble, alabaster, plaster, clay and wax over the next fifteen years, only returning to working in wood in 2022.

Much of Nicola’s current work is inspired by architectural ruins and archaeology; castles and stone monuments native to Wales, where she now lives and works.  The main ethos of her work is the sense of quiet and history within the landscape. 

Since returning to Wales, Nicola has been working on a number of tall vertical forms in wood, and employing a variety of textures achieved with a broad range of both hand and power tools.  These textures emulate erosion of the old stone buildings which inspire her, through various markings and pitted surfaces describing an element of age and weathering.  This nature of working creates shadows throughout the surface, where light and shade interplay creating a gentle, rippling movement, giving life to the sculptures.

Nicola’s sculptures are not busy, but simplistic, calming and quiet; the main concept running throughout her work is to recreate the feeling of time standing still, which pervades these historic places. This peaceful presence is central to her work, the idea behind which is to create a refuge from the busyness of the world for a while.

Nicola has exhibited both abroad and throughout the UK, exhibiting at both major London exhibitions and galleries in cities elsewhere in the UK.  She has exhibited at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, the Royal West of England Academy in Bristol, the Discerning Eye and RBA at Mall Galleries, alongside various open exhibitions in Cork Street and elsewhere in London, including at Bargehouse Gallery, Oxo Tower Wharf.

Alongside exhibiting, Nicola has completed a number of contemporary art commissions for both private and corporate clients within the UK.

In 2020, a bronze commission from further afield saw her work installed in Tai Po, Hong Kong, in the recently built ‘Ontolo’ – a new luxury residence by the sea in Tolo Harbour, completed in September 2020.  

Alongside her studio pieces, Nicola  undertook a bronze public artwork which was installed at the old Printers building in Papworth Everard, Cambridgeshire in March 2023.

Her work is held in collections in America, Australia, and throughout Europe.