She couldn’t go out anyway, so why not spend time painting in the studio she set up on the family farm.After 20 years of teaching herself how to create poetry with a brush, this was the moment when her first art collection came to life.The wife of Melbourne Storm legend Billy Slater, and mum to their two kids Tyla, 14, and Jake, 10, she was finally putting her career first.“Once Covid hit, I thought it was the perfect time to focus on what I wanted to do and have a go at it and do whatever it takes,’’ she said.“I wanted to take the time it deserved. I’m a self-taught artist and I was teaching myself so much. I just got better and I was becoming obsessed by it.“Before then I would just paint what I could, when I had time, and was trying to burn the candle at both ends which I don’t regret doing, but I just never had the time to devote to it with the kids and Bill’s career.“Bill’s career is still going and we still circle around that, but the way our lifestyle is now, I have the studio here on my farm, the kids are usually at school and it was ticking our boxes.”Slater is now represented by an art dealer, Adam Knight, who she recruited from Mitchelton Winery. She originally thought her pieces would be good for places like hotel lobbies but they’ve also been bought by people who have an affinity with horses, for their homes, and she also does commissions. Her art has caught the eye of the likes of Black Caviar trainer Peter Moody, world champion horseman Chris Cox and even Zara Tindall, the Queen’s granddaughter. “Nicole’s artwork is a pure expression of her passion for horses and creative talent,’’ Tindall said. “Her stunning equine art reflects her personality beautifully.” High praise indeed. Her first review from an art critic this year gave glowing praise; making comparisons to an artist who sold a piece for £11 million pounds. “I’ve never had anyone in the art world tell me what they think of it,’’ Slater said.“It’s been really nice, without getting too much of a big head, getting some feedback for the first time in my life about what I’m doing. Because I’m self taught I’m convincing myself that I’m doing the right thing or it’s good enough or worthy enough, but it’s nice to hear that from someone else as well who has the credentials to say so.” Word about Slater’s art is also spreading, with international art dealers considering working with herself and a top Aboriginal artist. Being diagnosed with dyslexia was also a big catalyst for Slater to take up art.“I’ve been open about my dyslexia and it drove me to be creative and I’ve taught myself all the little things,’’ she said.“I found my laser focus combining my passions of horses and art during that time of Covid.”Painting horses is what she began doing in her spare time under her maiden name, Nicole Rose Art, and it’s evolved into her business now as Nicole Slater. She bought two canvases, two years ago, after a visit to Mitchelton Winery, where she will launch her debut collection – The Stables Collection – on September 2.A picture of horse, Bella, became her first floor-to-ceiling portrait.On the farm, the Slaters have a “Noah’s Ark”, with birds, rescue goats and sheep, dogs and horses.“I’d always painted my surroundings or my journey or what I’m doing at the time and I found I had horses around me,’’ said Slater, who grew up in Cairns in North Queensland. “I was out on the farm for a week trying to get a picture I was happy with. They do say you should never work with kids and animals. But I got this particular photo of this horse and we thought it’s a good one. “I know more about horses so I’m critical about it and selecting images that have more movement or half-shadow. I really like painting with all different textures and colours, I’ve got thoroughbreds, quarter horses and warmbloods. “The warmbloods are a lot hairier so to paint those hairs is far more complex, whereas thoroughbreds, they’re all so different versus a stallion, which has got way more muscles in their face which is quite interesting to play with creating shadows,” Slater said. “Their eyes, I find, is the soul of the horse. I I can get that right the rest of the painting is fine because that’s the focal point. Depth and shadow from the eyelashes. I really enjoy playing with all those textures.” Horsemanship is in Nicole’s blood — she and Billy both grew up riding, competing in gymkhanas and show jumping. They first met at pony club aged 14 and Billy went on to be a trackwork rider for Gai Waterhouse. They lived in Richmond for 16 years before relocating and starting Slater Thoroughbreds, specialising in breeding thoroughbreds of outstanding bloodlines and pedigree. At the farm Slater has created a captivating space to create her pieces, with horses long being a subject of fascination among artists. There was always the lure for the Slaters to return to Queensland, but she has no doubt she’s in the right place to produce her art. “Melbourne is great for us, our relationships, the art world, Bill’s career is here,’’ she said. “As much as we think the grass is greener, maybe it isn’t. We’re going to be most stimulated here and we were pretty lucky.” Slater said she always imagined creating a life on a farm somewhere.“The horsey stuff, it’s been quite a big topic we’ve spoken about,’’ she said.“That 16 years we were waiting while Bill played footy we were always envisaging being on a property and having our horses, it was just a matter of when and it just so happened it all fell into place. “ Most days Slater is outside tending to all the mouths they need to feed, and sometimes she even has to set a timer because she gets so lost while deep in the zone in the studio. “There are mares we breed, and we’ve got rescue horses we keep,’’ she says. “It’s been nice in some way to give back. I always had that as a plan when I was younger. Luckily Bill and I are on the same page, when you’ve got so many mouths to feed it’s not cheap. “We put some rainbow trout in the dam and we go and fish and we have little moments like that where you think ‘oh yeah this is why we moved out here because it’s off computers’. We hand-raise the goats from an hour-old, so they’re very friendly and we have a lot of videos of a goat called Chip. If I could recommend an animal to people it would be a miniature goat. There’s never a dull moment out here for sure.” Billy, who played 319 games for Storm, and is now a commentator, said he couldn’t be more proud of his wife’s achievements. “Hard work and talent is an incredible combination,’’ he said. “I see first hand the drive and commitment Nicole has towards her art. The quality of this collection speaks for itself. I am extremely proud of my wife.” Nicole is also proud to be following her dreams. “I’ve been waiting patiently through Bill’s career and raising the kids and they’re at a nice age that I built myself a studio and thought I need to focus on what I want to do,’’ she said. “I know horses like the back of my hand, I have grown up with them and then once I started it was like the penny dropped. I’ve been pushed in that direction organically and I’m loving it.”
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