About Nikki
For three decades, I have told stories.
The bulk of my career has been in television, where I’ve spent 30 years as a presenter, producer and live television personality. From broadcasting thousands of hours of unscripted television to mentoring presenters and creating engaging content, my work has always centred on one thing; human connection.
Long before I picked up a paintbrush, I spent more than twenty years designing and handcrafting sterling silver jewellery and leather handbags. Making with my hands has always been the way I understand the world. Every stage of my creative life has been less about the finished object and more about the quiet conversation between imagination, material and meaning.
Today, alongside my creative practice, I am training in psychology and art psychotherapy. I’m fascinated by the ways creativity shapes our wellbeing, how images speak when words fail, and how the simple act of making can reconnect us to ourselves. These studies don’t define my artwork, but they deepen my understanding of why creating matters.
Everything changed after a serious hospital admission.
During recovery, when life became unexpectedly fragile, I experienced something difficult to explain. As the noise of everyday life fell away, I began seeing patterns, relationships and beauty that I had previously overlooked. Ideas arrived fully formed…what I can only describe as quiet downloads. They weren’t instructions; they were invitations to look differently.
Nature became a language.
Seeds became symbols of possibility. Roots became resilience. Gold became the quiet thread that binds broken things into something stronger. Empty space stopped feeling unfinished and instead became a place where the eye could rest and the mind could breathe.
That shift transformed not only the way I create, but the reason I create.
Every piece I make begins without a fixed destination. I work intuitively, allowing layers, marks, texture and unexpected discoveries to emerge naturally. Rather than illustrating a story, I uncover one. The finished work becomes an invitation for the viewer to bring their own memories, emotions and experiences to the piece.
I don’t believe art should tell you what to feel.
I believe it should create enough space for you to discover something that was already waiting within you.
Welcome to Gentleheart Studio.
I hope these pieces bring you a moment of stillness, curiosity, and perhaps a new way of seeing the world.