Ever since she can remember, Nicky Decorte has been a creative soul. The genes come from her parents, who were both artistically gifted, but never got a chance to pursue their talents. Whenever Nicky told them she was ‘bored’, they gave her pencil and paper and told her to draw something. Because of this, boredom has no place in Nicky’s life. If she is not in her studio to work on a painting or digital-art project, she is out and about with her camera, looking for things and people who inspire her art.
Nicky was born in The Netherlands (1960) and artistically she is completely self-taught.
“By the time I got an invite to study at an Artschool in Florence, Italy, I had no financial means to do so…”
Nicky’s professional career started in photojournalism (1980-1990). With camera in hand, hunting for images that told a story was her quest. Even after a career-change that introduced her to digital art (1990-2000), the camera to this day remains her most faithful companion. Many of her photographs have been published in newspapers and magazines, and some have even won awards. But she never abandoned drawing. As the millennium hit, she replaced pencil and ink with pastels, to create a renowned collection of sketches depicting Koniks, a wild horse breed that grazes the national parks in her country of origin. Most of the artwork was sold. Between 2011 and 2014 she was part of the Camera Club at Philadelphia Zoo (the oldest in America). Many of her unique portraits of its residents made it onto the Zoo website and into their public outreach materials. In 2016 she started working at mastering the art of acrylic paint, partnering with a series of mentors (USA artists Jennifer Gennari and Suzanne Brooker, Ontarian Tritan Braho, French Michel Lauricella (‘Morpho’) and UK art school owner Will Kemp.
In recent years, Nicky’s work has been shown in several Ontarian galleries in Canada: Joshua Creek Heritage Arts Centre in Milton/Oakville, the People’s Gallery in Waterloo, Art in the Yard @ Bob Arrigo’s in Oakville and the (former) Oak Heights Art Studio in Oakville.
Her favourite subject is “every creature with a beating heart”. Whether human or animal, Nicky manages to make her subject jump off the page, straight into the hearts of her audiences. She also likes to use her art for the benefit of social issues.
“Why paint just any lion, when you can find one that has a message to tell?“, she says, pointing to a portrait of ‘Humba’, one of the male lions that took over the pride of famously slaughtered lion Cecil in Zimbabwe. “Or what about Ustad, a.k.a. T-24? The tiger that created upheaval in India where he was put in captivity after eating 4 people… His story is breathtaking, and his face is awesome and deserving of the title Ustad, which is a term of great respect in India!“
Resume
The Netherlands
- Pre 2001
- Early work (sketches, ink), shown in several Dutch galleries
- Post 2001
- A large collection of pastels of wild horses (‘koniks’) shown in several galleries and conservation areas in Europe. Some of these original works are still available for sale (both framed and unframed).
Art mentoring
- Will Kemp, Cornwall, United Kingdom, current
- Michel Lauricella, Paris, France, ongoing
- Nicholas Wilton, San Diego, United States, 2023/2024
- Jennifer Gennari, New York, United States, 2022
- Bob Arrigo, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, 2022
- Shelley Prior, Oakville, Ontario, Canada, 2020
- Ixchel Suarez, Warkworth, Ontario, Canada, 2017/2018
- Suzanne Brooker, Seattle, United States, 2018
- Tritan Braho, Oakville, Canada, 2018
Bermuda 2009 – 2011
- Member of art-club of the International Women’s Club
- Founder of photography club of the International Women’s Club
- Portraiture commissions (watercolour)
- Event photography during 2009 Tallships Event, celebrating Bermuda’s 400th anniversary
USA – 2011 to 2013
- Member of Philadelphia Photo Arts Center and the Philadelphia Photo League (street photography), contributing to several social causes
- Member of Philadelphia Zoo Camera Club member 2011 – 2013
- Event photography for Tall Ships event at Seaport Museum in Philadelphia October 2013
- Photography Exhibition December 2013 @ Philadelphia International Airport
Canada – 2014 to today
- Pride parade 2019 photography
- Member of Joshua Creek Heritage Art Centre, Oakville
- Member of Oakville Arts Studio, currently moved and renamed to Oak Heights Art Gallery, Warkworth, Ontario
- Gallery Photography Exhibition – Summer 2016
- Milton, Sixteen Mile Arts Gallery (Main Street)
- “Decisive – new currents in Street Photography”
- Milton, Sixteen Mile Arts Gallery (Main Street)
- The People’s Gallery @ the Waterloo Art store 2021-2022
- Monthly art exhibition
- Joshua Creek Heritage Art Centre
- Annual Member show 2018-2022
- Juried show for artists of Halton and Peel 2018-2022
Photography Awards
- 1st Price digital artwork in LEE filters competition 2011
- 3rd Price digital artwork in Adobe Photoshop world competition 2012
- Awarded an exhibition spot in the ‘Philly Photo Day’ 2013 gallery in Philadelphia and at the Philadelphia International Airport
Books (self-published) – sold out but available in re-print
- The Bermuda Longtail (2012) – Following a Bermuda Longtail chick from chick to fledging (2 print editions)
- From fawn to buck (2014) – Following a white-tail deer family from birth to adulthood
- Proud as a Peacock (2015) – Collection of animal photography
Photography mentors
- Bryan Peterson, United States, 2019
- Raul Touzon, National Geographic photographer, United States, 2009-2011
- Andrée Thorpe, Canada, 2009-2011