Award winning artist Nola cannot remember life without art materials close by, making pictures.

Nola makes pictures, of almost anything almost every day. Any subject can, will and does make a picture. She needs to make those pictures, to achieve her goal, be a full time Visual Artist. She works with coloured pencils, graphite, watercolour, pen & ink

….and for fun in various markers.

In1967 an elderly horse, drawn from life, sold, making the visual art career goal decision easy. A part time position at the Robt. Simpson Co’s Queen Street Riding Shop paid for four years of studio based Ontario College of Art for her 1974 Communications & Design AOCA. A career in the North American retail world followed, as she kept depicting domestic animals, horses, dogs, cats and Muskoka for her private clients across Canada or other countries or continents.

In the early 90s she discovered a new goal, helping others achieve their visual art goals by creating pictures of subjects they love. In1996 her Adult Education Staff Training Certificate (AESTC) enhanced her career. “Making Better Pictures” workshops introduce all sorts of subjects to adult artists of all skill levels.

The 2000 Heritage Sports Art images have allowed her personal devotion to accuracy and detail in watercolour to develop even further as she learned about the history of sports uniform equipment developments and venues from1868 to 2025.

Jury submissions have often resulted in awards.

A Toronto native Nola is a member of the Toronto Heliconian Club, the American Watercolor Society, the Colored Pencil Society of America, and Coloured Pencil Artists of Canada

A Herstory Tale

Growing up two pictures faced the dining table. Two sisters agreed, the “better”one was “Beautiful Green Trunks”. The other was “Ugly Worms”. Both were signed M.E. Carr.

They knew that grandmother’s lifetime family friend Emily was an Important Artist, That she had really liked their father. That they had an autographed book, “Klee Wyck”. That in 1918 she had given the two pictures in her hall to their then 9 year old father when he visited with Grandmother. Later, those pictures came to Toronto.

Those paintings taught Nola a lot of things. Women could be artists, even if being “ahead of your time” can be discouraging. Colour does not have to be real to be effective. Real should not slavishly attempt reproduction of a photograph. All very good things to know.

After their father passed, their mother packed up the two paintings, and sold them. Years later Nola found “Beautiful Green Trunks” in the Ken Thomson Gallery. Mr Thomson invited her to make the copy above.

Questions? Please contact Nola through the contact panel or by e-mail merriweather@sympatico.ca

Mission:
Make better pictures everyday.