Nicole received a BFA in 1995 from Colorado State University, majoring in Drawing, minoring in Art History. It was at Colorado State University that Nicole began her teaching career, teaching art to 1st through 12th graders in upstate New York during the summers and as a Professor’s Assistant in the C.S.U. Drawing Department during the school year. She has also taught art for the Cannon River S.T.E.M. School, the Walker Art Center, Faribault Middle School and the Paradise Center for the Arts.  In 2000, she earned a Master of Arts in Visual Arts from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. As a graduate student, Nicole worked in art education and museum outreach at the Elvehjem Museum of Art at the University of Wisconsin. She went on to work in the Education and Community Programs Department for the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis and with local, Northfield and Faribault, art institutions. Nicole has over fifteen years experience working in art education.

Her career as a wedding painter began as a happy accident. While working at the Walker Art Center, Nicole met a couple planning their wedding reception at the museum's Gallery 8 restaurant. The father of the bride thought it would be fun to have an artist create a piece of artwork at the reception since it was to be held at a contemporary art museum. He asked the museum staff if they knew of anyone who could paint at the reception. They recommended Nicole. The entire process was so interactive. Guests loved coming over through out the night to check on the progress, see how much the painting had changed, and of course, look for themselves in the painting! The painting turned out beautifully. Everyone commented how unique it was to have a wedding painter there, saying it was the highlight of the wedding.

Since then, Nicole has painted at events across the mid-west; including the Drake Hotel in Chicago, the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, the State Historical Museum in DesMoines, Detroit and many other spectacular locations.  She has painted both in grand, monumental locations, and in the intimate settings of private homes and gardens. Nicole feels deeply honored to be a part of so many wedding days. The common thread in all of these weddings is that each painting is unique, breathing the life of the couple and their friends and family celebrating their special day.

Nicole lives and paints in Faribault, MN with her husband, three sons, cat, dog and horse.