About

I grew up in Thunder Bay, Canada, on the North Shore of Lake Superior and have always been drawn to its power and beauty. After my graduation from Lakehead University in 2003, Lake Superior became the subject of many paintings. For years I happily painted idyllic, natural landscapes. In 2015, I moved to Turku, Finland with my wife and two children. I soon found a stunning subject in the Baltic Sea, and was able to continue my practice of painting shorelines and surrounding forests. Like Lake Superior, the Baltic Sea features sculpted rock formations that interact beautifully with light and water.

Several years ago I started to become more and more interested in painting human made objects, tools, machines, and infrastructure. I am fascinated by the design, marketing, and manufacturing behind consumerism, its appealing nature, and its ecological impact. In my recent work, I explore the tension between consumer culture and the climate crisis by juxtaposing paintings of consumer products with paintings of their ecological impacts.

I also still love to paint idyllic, natural landscapes.

EDUCATION

Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada

2010-11 Advanced Painting Studio

2010-11 Advanced Drawing Studio

York University, Toronto, Canada

2007-2008 Western Art History and Modern Art History (Audited)

Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada

2000 – 2003 BFA, majoring in Painting & Sculpture

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2024 Metsä

  • Gumbostrand Konst & Form, Söderkulla, Finland
  • January 11 – February 25

2021 Sum of the Parts

  • B-galleria, Turku, Finland
  • May

2013 Quetico Landscapes

  • Pictograph Gallery, Atikokan, Ontario, Canada
  • May – June

2009 Lake Superior’s North Shore – The Limnology Project

  • Thunder Bay Art Gallery, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
  • September – November

2009 New Paintings

  • Calico, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
  • August – September

2006 Vivid Shorelines

  • Waters of Superior, Duluth, Minnesota, USA
  • September – October

2006 New Surreal Paintings

  • Definitely Superior Art Gallery, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
  • June – July

2006 Superior’s Natural Mystic

  • The Pictograph Gallery, Atikokan, Ontario, Canada
  • April

2005 Print Sale & WEBSITE Launch

  • 88 Regent Street, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
  • May

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2024 Purkutaide – Ihmemaa X (“Wonderland X”)

  • Kerava, Finland

2022 Winter Art Market

  • Gumbostrand Konst & Form, Söderkulla, Finland
  • November 30 – January 8, 2023

2021 Summer Exhibition

  • Gumbostrand Konst & Form, Söderkulla, Finland
  • June 10 – August 15

2016 Luontoon (To Nature)

  • Gumbostrand Konst & Form, Söderkulla, Finland
  • November, 2016 – January, 2017

2014 The North Now: Northern Ontario Juried Exhibition

  • Thunder Bay Art Gallery, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
  • October, 2014 – January, 2015

2014 October Studio Walkabout

  • 373 Tupper Street, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
  • October 2014, 2012, 2011, 2010

2012 Beginnings

  • Red Lake Regional Heritage Centre, Red Lake, Ontario, Canada
  • June – August

2008 Regent Street Art Exhibition

  • 88 Regent Street, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
  • December

2008 The Clothing Show

  • Toronto, Ontario, Canada
  • May

2007 Crown Street Art Exhibition

  • 99 Crown Street, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
  • December, 2007, 2006, 2005

2007 Making a Great Lake Superior Conference

  • Duluth, Minnesota, USA
  • October

2006 Thirty points of Light – Regional Group Show

  • Thunder Bay Art Gallery, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
  • December, 2006 – January, 2007

2006 Plein Air Festival

  • Thunder Bay Conservation Area, Ontario, Canada
  • August

2005 Lakehead University Alumni – 25th Anniversary Visual Art Exhibition 2005

  • Definitely Superior Art Gallery, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
  • November – December

2005 Art For All, Regional Group Art Exhibition

  • Thunder Bay Art Gallery, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
  • January – February

2004 Art Show

  • Gargoyles, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
  • November – January

2003 Art Opening

  • Creed, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
  • November

GRANTS & AWARDS

2021 Korona-apurahaa, Taiteen edistämiskeskus, Corona Grant,
Arts Promotion Centre Finland

2020 Korona-apurahaa, Taiteen edistämiskeskus, Corona Grant,
Arts Promotion Centre Finland

2013 Ontario Arts Council Exhibition Assistance Grant

2012 Ontario Arts Council Northern Arts Grant

2009 Ontario Arts Council Exhibition Assistance Grant

2007 Ontario Arts Council Northern Arts Grant

2006 Ontario Arts Council Exhibition Assistance Grant

SELECTED PRESS

Leena-Kaisa Laakso (Text), Jukka Vaso (Photography), “Jättijärven maisemista Aurajoen rannoille”
Turun Sanomat, September 11, 2021, 117, vintage – No. 251/2021.

Bonnie Schiedel, “A Stream of Consciousness, The Art of Luke Nicol”, The Walleye Magazine,December 2014, Vol 5 No 12

Michelle McChristie, Superior Outdoors Magazine, Summer 2013, Vol 7 No 1

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Todd Dufresne, Clara Sacchetti, Kezia Picard, & Mark Nisenholt, editors, Superior Art: Local Art in a Global Context (Thunder Bay: Agency Books, 2012), 177-181.