Bio

Nicole Groot is an award-winning painter, published illustrator, and printmaker who uses the process of painting and drawing to gain a deeper understanding of her own emotions. Her reflective paintings explore the imperfections of human memory and the weakness of the human spirit, yet simultaneously highlight the beauty and resilience of both. She often represents these themes with images of Tennessee's woodlands and its inhabitants: her home and her family.

Groot is currently earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting from Tennessee Technological University, where she is a scholarship recipient. During high school, she worked as an illustrator for a small publishing company, completing seven children's books before college. Groot has additionally worked as a drawing tutor and workshop assistant. As she continues to develop her practice, Nicole Groot looks forward to creating paintings, prints, and illustrations which connect with others.

Artist Statement

Painting is my way of ruminating upon that which is meaningful to me. Regardless of the subject, I try to capture some psychological significance, illustrate a spiritual truth, or highlight a specific emotion in each picture. I am fascinated by the concept of fading memories or fleeting mental images. Mental reconstructions appear visually incomplete, emphasizing emotionally-charged details and discarding everything else. Even mundane memories are powerful, giving humble objects value and ordinary places meaning. By depicting people and nature through the lens of memory, I hope to share an emotional connection with others.

I combine representation with some abstraction to communicate the emotion behind each piece, often abandoning absolute visual accuracy in search of truth. The distortion or haziness of memory is often the truest part in an emotional sense. While the colors sometimes deviate from reality, I still prefer to use unified, subtle colors that reflect the harmony of nature. My own childhood memories are deeply rooted in Tennessee’s wooded mountains; thus, images of nature permeate my work. I love the simultaneous fragility and resilience of nature, as it parallels the human experience.

Sharing my personal memories or thoughts can seem awkward in conversation; I often fear coming across as too emotional, or anxiety-ridden, or overly sentimental. But painting allows me to be reflective and honest. Paint also gives me the freedom to amplify the emotion of an image. A partial divergence from perfect representation can convey a reality that exists beyond physical space, and it can resonate with the viewer on an emotional level. If my paintings can uplift or comfort just one person, I feel I have succeeded.