Nicole Evans

Detail and realism are the awe-inspiring qualities in the work of Australian illustrator Nicole Evans. Whether she’s drawing a portrait or painting a mural, every eyelash, smile line and hint of shading is meticulously rendered, making you look again… and again. She has a captivating ability. After leaving university, Nicole worked as a sign writer and muralist, developing her ability to paint at very large scales. “Some of the walls I worked on were on the sides of high-rise buildings, painting compositions up to 20 metres long,” she says. Today she takes on a range of illustration commissions as well as murals. Her portraits of both people and pets are ultra-accurate, and when she draws food it always looks eminently eatable. Looking at her portfolio, it’s no surprise to find that she loves dogs. Her broader inspiration comes from Renaissance artists like Da Vinci, Caravaggio and Degas, and the Realist work of Chuck Close, Gerhard Richter and Serge Marshen. If she wasn’t an illustrator, Nicole says she’d probably be a detective, and her interests include true crime and travel.