Insights

A full scale-print of Jill’s paintings “Phi” is installed in the collection of the Vatican Observatory Museum. The museum is dedicated to historical astronomical artifacts with a room directly below the Schmidt telescope dedicated to astronomical art.
Read More about “Phi”.

“Juno”, Oil on Canvas, 60” x 72”

A print of ” Juno”, also installed in the Vatican Observatory Museum, is named after the Goddess of Fertility as well as the probe that orbited Jupiter numerous times, capturing the image that inspired the painting. The impression of the Jovian fluid dynamics of light and energy reminded me of a more earth-bound energy, that of biological life. As the painting developed, the expression of the Fertility Goddess emerged in the shapes of the female womb and birth canal. Shapes and systems that relate to each other – inner life mapping to the larger outer life. So within so without, the infinitely scalability of finite matter.
Read more about “Juno”.

“Flow”, Oil on Steel, 24” x 36” (lithography plates from former artist)

 “Flow” is a study of moving water. To date there are four paintings in the series. I have been working them in rotation and have 9 more gifted sheets of steel that I may possibly use to expand the series. At first, I was fascinated by the play of light; translucent jewels of blues and greens, edges setting off sparks and undulations. As I painted, I became interested in the boundaries that were defined by obstacles; a stone, tip of a leaf, or length of a stem, that broke the flow into diverging directions. Read more

What fascinated me about this scene while painting my field study was the sense of depth looking down as well as the vastness of the horizon. In re-creating the painting in the studio I felt that the square format would lend itself best to emphasizing the two views. I was satisfied with the initial pass of the studio painting, however I thought that it could be better. I decided to overlay the Fibonacci sequence in Photoshop and that’s where things got interesting. Read more

The events of January 6th, 2020 prompted Jill to share the painting, Our Banner in the Sky, above, by Frederic Edwin Church (1826-1900). The Stars and Stripes of the Union flag conjured from the firmament, painted shortly after the attack on Fort Sumter that sparked the Civil War in 1861. Read More

In this new millennium with global warming, John Ruskin’s, (19th century art critic), words still hold true – “It is a strange thing how little in general people know about the sky. It is the part of all creation in which nature has done more for the sake of pleasing man(kind), more, for the sole and evident purpose of talking to him and teaching him, than in any other of her works, and it is just the part in which we least attend to her. And yet we never attend to it, we never make it a subject of thought…”read more

Jill’s painting, “Weir Farm Summer’s Day” exhibited in the Weir Farm National Park’s website received an honorable mention award from U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service. View her painting, in the Advanced Artist Category, at the Online Exhibit through April 30, 2021. Read more about Weir farm on Jill’s blog the America the Beautiful. To purchase a print please visit the Art Shop.

Jill Nichols’s painting appears in “The Comey Rule” in the former FBI Director’s office. This is the story of how my painting of the Grand Canyon found its way into former FBI Director James Comey’s Office and the CBS/Showtime TV show “The Comey Rule”.  Read More.

Jill Nichols’s painting served as backdrop for former FBI Director’s “Face the Nation” interview. Jill only became aware of the August 23, 2020 airing when she first read my messages from viewers that reached out. One viewer’s comment, “Saw Mr. Comey on Face the Nation. The painting struck me like a thunderbolt. Found it and you! Magnificent! Sarah U. Read More.