Born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, Nicola Katsikis moved to Los Angeles embracing art as a lifestyle and surrounding herself with artists. She draws upon her extensive background in design and color but also keeps working on new ideas, experimenting with new materials and techniques. In the studio, nothing matters but the creation unfolding in front of her. The results can feel serendipitous, unforeseen, and opportune. Katsikis has been intrigued by graffiti from a young age, observing subway cars with colorful images. The artist states, “I’ve always used the urban landscape as my inspiration, finding beauty where others may see grime. Graffiti is a natural expression of people’s feelings and emotions.” Katsikis’s artworks are creative combinations of her own photographs. Each photograph adds color as well as depth to the artwork, revealing the materials the graffiti was painted on originally, or showing aspects of well-known places that have been previously overlooked. All of her work is applied to a wood panel and finished off with several coats of clear resin.