Linda Nicol (nee Glover) has been painting portraits professionally for the last 30years. In addition to her private commissions of family groups, wives, husbands, friends, grandchildren or beloved pets she has painted for organisations as diverse as The RNLI, The Worshipful Company of Cutlers, Eton College and Arsenal Football Club. Linda is truly international – her work is hung as far afield as France, Germany, USA, Singapore and New Zealand.
Born in Kent and a farmer’s daughter she originally studied graphic design at Canterbury College of Art where she achieved a BA(hons) Degree together with The Queens Award for Art & Design, a bursary which enabled her to move to Paris to study for a while, subsidising the bursary by drawing portraits of tourists in Montmatre.
In the “Swinging Sixties” she landed her dream job at Philips Records (now Phonogram) designing album covers for many of the stars of the time including Dusty Springfield, Manfred Mann, The Walker Brothers, Peter Frampton and Cleo Lane to name but a few. Any vinyl freaks reading this will be interested to know that Linda designed the famous kinetic VERTIGO logo for the new avante garde record label of that name. This label launched such bands as Black Sabbath, Jon Hiseman’s Colloseum, Juicy Lucy and Manfred Mann Chapter III. The Vertigo label and its’ iconic logo has spawned two substantial books to which Linda has contributed. Back in the day she recieved critical acclaim for her award winning Vertigo album cover “Seasons” by Magna Carta which earned her an interview with the late BBC DJ Brian Mathews on his original “Saturday Club” radio programme, still going strong as Sounds of the Sixties.
Marriage and children meant Linda combined being a wife and mother with freelance work. “But I harked back to my days in Paris” Linda recalls. “I started painting my children, husband, friends, pets and anyone who would sit still! It snowballed from there” and the rest is history!
With her children grown up Linda and her husband moved to Norfolk where she has lived for the last 30 years. She works from life and photographs in her studio in the village of Stanhoe near Burnham Market where examples of her work can be seen in her studio/gallery.
In between commissions she likes to paint traditional seascapes, landscapes and country pursuits. Although oils are her favourite medium she is no “one trick pony” and is comfortable in most mediums. Linda is happy to discuss all possibilities with anyone interested in her work.
During the recent Corona pandemic lockdown Linda has been embarking on a number of (what she calls) Doodling Portraits combining ornate designs with portraits on a gold background (a sort of homage to Gustav Klimpt). She says “It’s been great fun and people seem to love them!”
