Nicki Ault

Saskatchewan NAC Auction House Biography and Notes

SKNAC bio Nicki Ault was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan where she currently resides with her husband and two sons. Her art education has been ongoing, participating in painting and drawing classes through the University of Saskatchewan (USCAD, Emma Lake Kenderdine Campus) and Atelier 2302. Ault's instructors have included Degen Lindner, Clint Hunker, Iris Hauser, Alicia Popoff, Craig Berry, Gord MacDonald and Matthew Mancini.   Ault's work is inspired by the natural world, and she paints en plein air when she has the opportunity. Colour and light are vital to her in capturing the energy of prairie landscapes, the Boreal forest, and open skies. She writes: "I want the viewer to stand close, explore the brushstrokes, then step away to see the work as a whole. My hope is that my paintings will feel familiar but exciting by tapping into a private memory that will connect the viewer to the image, to our powerful Canadian environment, and to me."   Ault's work has been exhibited in solo and group shows in Saskatchewan and Ontario.  In 2011, her painting "In My Aura" was part of a group show at AyrSpace Gallery in Ayr, Ontario, showcasing the work of 100 female artists for the centenary of International Women's Day. In June 2012, Nicki volunteered on the committee which brought the first annual Art Trek: Studio Discovery Tour to Saskatoon which ran for four consecutive years. It was an event that aimed to introduce the public to the working studios and art practices of artists in the city. In 2013 Nicki took two adventurous trips: painting in Georgian Bay, Ontario and canoeing and painting in Lac La Ronge Provincial Park. In February 2016 Nicki’s piece "Walk In The Meadow" won the Art Placement Media Award For Accomplishment In Oil at the Mann Gallery Winter Festival Art Show and Sale. In September 2016 she was invited to participate with twenty-nine other artists in "A Square Affair", a show of 12x12 paintings taking place in St. Catharines, Ontario. Ault is represented by Assiniboia Gallery in Regina. She is a juried member of the Saskatchewan Craft Council, a member of CARFAC and maintains a workspace at Studio on 20th. Her work is part of private collections in Canada, England, Switzerland, Thailand, Costa Rica and the United States as well as corporate collections in Saskatchewan.