Get to know the artists behind our first ever Wall Art collection! Kip&Co are thrilled to work with three of our favourite artists, Nicole Nelius (@nicole.nelius), Nicko Phillips (@champagne_nicko) and May Gibbs (@maygibbsofficial), to create a range of artwork from the exquisite to the quirky.
This collection includes a diverse array of artworks, from flowers and fruits to vibrant and whimsical characters, ensuring there's something for every corner of your home. Keep reading to explore these amazing prints, their stories, and the talented artists behind them.
NICOLE NELIUS
Can you tell us a bit about the work you do and how you became an artist?
I started out as a stylist and went from assembling still life compositions, to photographing them, to painting them and sometimes painting over them. I also have a background in art history and theory, which may lend itself to my eye for colour and composition.
Your beautiful still-life paintings seem to follow a similar aesthetic, fruits and flowers in sculptural compositions. Where did the connection between art, flower and food begin?
It began with using what I had left over from interiors shoots and playing around with compositions in beautiful, fleeting light on my kitchen table. The connection between art, flowers and food has been celebrated since the beginning of still life paintings; the Dutch Masters were onto something! I personally love the accessibility and timelessness of organic objects and that everyone can identify with them.
Talk us through inspiration and ideation behind your Rainbow Connection print?
I remember the experience of painting this work, feeling like a calming meditative moment with an underlying buzz of exhilaration. I enjoyed instinctively painting the outlined shape of the objects over and over with large brushstrokes and enjoying the results as I went. I love it. I think the print portrays those two emotions quite well - it’s both calming to look at and upbeat and fun.
What about hanging artwork in a home gives you the warm and fuzzies?
Oh, I love having artwork all over my home. It adds beauty, colour, a sense of nostalgia and can inspire. It’s so lovely to have special pieces in your space that just make you smile. Once you start you can’t stop!
NICKO PHILLIPS
Can you tell us a bit about the work you do and how you became an artist?
I've always loved drawing characters and making things. Looking back on it now, there were so many great sources of inspiration from my childhood that lodged themselves in my DNA, like Garfield, Mad Magazine, Count Duckula, The Simpsons, Masters of the Universe, The Banana Splits, and Fraggle Rock. The 90s truly was a visual smorgasbord.
You describe your designs as a little “bit silly, bit weird, and a lot colorful” (which we love!). Has this always been your go-to style of work?
Definitely! Silly is the spice of life, weirdness is the salt, and colour is the umami. My work sometimes gets described as "funky" which used to give me a dose of the shudders, but I'm learning to embrace it.
Tell us about Peace Dude - what inspired you and what do you want people to feel when you look at this piece?
A lot of my characters exist in a cosy sort of universe, and Peace Dude is no different. There's a song by Eddie Chacon called Pleasure, Joy and Happiness that fills me with such warmth, and well, I guess a lot of pleasure, joy and happiness too. Peace Dude is the ambassador of these feelings.
If you had to pick one room in your house to hang artwork, where would it be?
The silly in me wants to say the toilet – there's a lot of dwell time that people can admire art rather than looking at an out-of-date calendar or reading the fun facts on their toilet paper packaging. But the dad in me will have to say in the Kids' room – it's such an easy way to bring some personality and warmth to these fun lil spaces. Plus, it might help distract the eye from the endless sprawl of socks, Lego, and pencils on the floor.
