Nicole Duffell

Hello & welcome!

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I'm an Aussie, calling Singapore home for almost 25 years now. I grew up rurally in Australia with a huge love of nature and animals. As a teen, I worked as an illustrator/cartoonist for some magazines and newspapers until I followed my other passion, playing tenor saxophone, then went on to uni to study jazz performance (much to the dismay of my art tutors). I've since been lucky enough to travel widely as a professional musician for over 30 years, playing a lot of great gigs, so I have a deep love for jazz (and collecting way too many vintage vinyl records).

 

My artwork is certainly a reflection of who I am, my inner world (which runs like a cartoon for the most part!) and my life experiences. It's an eclectic, free-wheeling expression of my own human experiences combined with joy found in the smallest things. I come from a very analogue drawing background, having worked as an illustrator & cartoonist before Adobe and the digital art world ever existed (now you're questioning how old I really am and I will just say that I'm proud to be a true 70's love child!). I stick to this organic approach to drawing because I truly love the process, I even still use the old grid system to draw portraits when needed, then I scan the drawings into Adobe programs to be finished digitally for the colour.

 

A year ago I had a life-changing emergency surgery which really made me re-evaluate and re-prioritise a lot of life stuff (no sympathy needed, I have my plus-size big-girl pants on!) The surgery really did change my life dramatically and changed the direction of my art in too many ways to mention - it's ever so much more meaningful since the process of creating became what really saved my sanity through an intense recovery time and in some way, is still my therapy each day. There's always a story behind every single drawing I do - I honestly believe that the old adage of being true to oneself is the only way to create soulful, meaningful art - whether that be music, dance, literature et al. This is certainly kept at my core.

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My biggest influences are the "golden age" illustrators (from late 1800s to 1930s) plus old master etchers such as Durer and Dore. I grew up just soaking up books full of Grimm fairy-tale illustrations and the like. So I initially worked with just pencil and ink for the most part. My art still always starts organically as a sketch, pencil on paper. I've worked alot at upgrading my skills in graphics using the Adobe programs over the past few years (specifically during the lockdowns). I'm not a painter, so I love the fact that I can finish drawings with digital colour. I like to print the artwork in limited editions, signed and numbered on sustainably sourced archival paper. I adamantly use sustainably sourced materials, packaging and paper where-ever I can plus I donate some art proceeds to animal welfare groups that I support.

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​​After a lifetime of late night gigs and even running a couple of great jazz clubs, I'm glad for the slower more peaceful path that I'm on right now - certainly loving early mornings and cycling down the east coast. I've had to stop playing gigs, but am hopeful to be able to perform again one day. So here I am, ever so grateful that you've taken the time to visit! I hope you enjoy the artwork :)​

 

​Cheers,

Nic x

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