Nicola Bouwer, Good Advice, oil on board, 2024

Dimesnsion: 42x29.5cm

Nicola Bouwer is a Johannesburg-based South African artist working in oil painting and collage. Her practice is rooted in quiet observation and emotional storytelling, exploring themes of memory, stillness, nature, and the subtle spaces in between.

Guided by instinct and shaped by her formal studies in the social sciences, Bouwer believes creativity is not taught but lived—a perspective that informed her shift from a corporate career to a dedicated art practice. This transition marked a return to her long-standing passion for making art, allowing her to hone a visual language that is both introspective and poetic.

Often inspired by small yet resonant details—the curve of a shadow, a solitary object, the delicate fall of light—Bouwer draws influence from Japanese aesthetics, photography, graphic design, architecture, and the natural world.

Good Advice embodies this sensibility, balancing mood, form, and subtle narrative to invite reflection on the quiet moments that shape our lives.