Kimberley Nicolle is a contemporary artist whose work is shaped by a deep affinity for coastlines, the sea, and island life. This is balanced by an equally strong passion towards urban street art, photography, neon colour, and music culture. Rooted in Curdridge, her work exists at the intersection of nature and the city.
She works in a highly expressive, instinctive way, often painting directly with her hands and using mixed media. This physical and immersive process produces artworks that feel raw, energetic, and celebratory.
Her visual style is defined by vibrant colour palettes, layered textures, and a strong sense of movement. These elements are influenced by emotional response and a profound connection to nature. This forms the foundation of her distinctive signature style, making her work instantly recognisable.
This design is a reflection on love, loss, memory, and the promise of bright futures. At the centre of the design is the heart, which holds universal meaning but something different for each person. In this artwork, this heart becomes a recurring motif, celebrating its power to connect us, evoke emotion, and inspire reflection.
The sculpture features interlocking and overlapping hearts, creating layers that suggest depth, complexity and the many intertwined experiences shared within the community. The heart represents those we hold dear in the present, as well as those who are no longer with us but remain alive in memory.
The layers of hearts and vibrant colours symbolise the many forms love can take: enduring connections, cherished memories, and the promise of new experiences. The design is a celebration of love in all its forms: loving deeply, remembering fondly, embracing the here and now, and carrying hope and passion for the future. The name Valen embodies love and devotion, honouring not only personal relationships but also the wider community.
Lion of Love Valen
The Lion has arrived at the studio
I’m incredibly proud to be a Pride of Portsmouth artist, working here in Portsmouth on this exciting Wild in Art project. I’m especially delighted to be partnered with Adopt South. I feel honoured to represent them through this collaboration.
My lion sculpture has now arrived, and I couldn’t be more thrilled. It was a quick van journey to Portsmouth City Council to collect this spectacular fibreglass lion sculpture. It arrived carefully wrapped in bubble wrap, pristine and white, ready for the transformation ahead through my design and colour concept.
At this stage, I’m in the preparation phase, carefully taping areas and planning the finer details before beginning to spray and paint the lion. There’s definitely a sense of nervous excitement building, which I think comes with working on such a large and meaningful sculpture.
The sculpture is substantial in size, and it already feels like a presence of its own. On the journey back, my daughter sat beside it in the car, singing to it the whole way, so even still wrapped in bubble wrap, this lion has already been given a lot of love.
It’s now in my studio, waiting for the brushes and spray cans to bring it to life. I’ll soon begin applying colour and detail in preparation for the Wild in Art trail, which is due to launch in early July.
Proud Lion - Adopt South
I’m incredibly excited to partner with Adopt South. I can’t wait to work together on this project and to have them proudly standing as a lion sponsor alongside my painted sculpture.
Unleashing the Lion.
The cat is officially out of the bag, or rather, the lion has finally broken free from its bubble wrap and is settling comfortably into its new home in my barn studio.
My Wild in Art lion project, Valen, is now well and truly underway. With paints in order and a head full of colourful ideas, this promises to be an exciting, creative journey, so watch this space.
The joy of Easter has paused progress just briefly, but in the best possible way. I’ve been lucky enough to share this moment with my very own mini artist, keeping me company in the studio on a rather cold day. While the lion stands unwrapped and ready for its transformation, my little collaborator has plenty of imaginative ideas about how it should look!
There’s something incredibly special about seeing my own family inspired by this blank, white lion. I can’t wait to watch it come to life and to see the impact it will have once it’s fully painted and out on the streets for everyone to enjoy.
Layers, Light, and the Lion
The next stage of bringing the lion to life is all about building depth, colour, and character.
With the sun finally out and the wind settled, it’s the perfect moment to begin layering bold spray paints and mixed tones across the surface. Each section is carefully considered, blocks of colour flowing into one another, tested, adjusted, and brought together to start shaping the lion’s personality. Masking tape becomes essential here, helping to create clean edges and defined areas, while sanding between layers keeps the surface smooth and ready for the next burst of colour.
Alongside the technical process comes the quieter, more reflective side of making: plenty of tea, stepping back, and pondering what the lion is becoming. Decisions are made slowly, especially around the finer details like eye-ball dilemmas and hair dilemmas, where expression and movement really begin to matter.
These are the moments when the lion feels alive, as small choices build into something bold, expressive, and full of presence.
The Lion Finds Its Eyes
A little update from the studio, the focus has shifted to the finer details, with the lion’s eyes and hair now really starting to take shape. The eyes are finally going in (always a slightly nerve-wracking but exciting moment!), and with each small adjustment, they begin to bring personality and life to the piece. At the same time, the mane is building layer by layer, adding movement, texture, and depth.
Heart stencils are now in production too, with careful mapping of where each one will sit within the “hairdo,” while work on the body is quietly getting underway in the background.
With cups of tea on hand and a bit of sunshine pouring into the studio, it’s one of those slower, thoughtful stages. Lots of stepping back, squinting, and pondering as each detail finds its place. It’s careful work, but this is where the lion truly starts to come alive.
Also learning how to draw and paint left-handed white using ladders and steps to reach. Hats off to the artists who painted the giraffes for Wild in Art.
Valen gets an all-over colour do. Base colours on. Handy use of leaflets protecting the chrome base.
How do you carry all the cans? Without accidentally spraying yourself as you carry them!!!!
The moment I screamed inside. The colours wow, wow, yes, yes, yes.
The moment I realised we needed a proper love heart hairdo. Valen needs more hearts. The design took a little twist. Due to the complex shapes and angles on this sculpture, we needed more.
All the colours, so many choices. Might just use them all.
In goes the details. Never knew it was so hard to paint over so many curves. Think I am left-handed now.