Nik Barkley Watercolor
Watercolor Portrait Commissions
The Artist
Nik is the consummate creative soul who has an unwavering passion to create.
From woodcarvings to construction projects to doodles to stone walls to epic cardboard box forts, Nik has always been driven to create and dedicated to his craft. Born the 3rd and youngest child in a rural town in Northern New Your, he grew up on Crayola and took as many art classes as possible throughout his early schooling. He later attended art school in Cazenovia and Buffalo, New York, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Graphic Design.
Nik is currently a Vice President and Creative Director for Matter Communications, a fully-integrated PR, marketing, and creative agency based in Newburyport, MA. He manages a team of 19 Art Directors, Designers, Writers, Web Developers, and Project Managers, and helps brands tell their stories through bespoke, dynamic, and own-able campaigns and experiences.
Nik’s watercolor journey has been unique, to say the least. Up until about 5 years ago, Nik could count on one hand the number of watercolors he’d painted—since then he has painted well over 100, learning and growing with every one. Nik’s signature hyper-realistic style has evolved as well, from his early days of softer tones and simple highlights to his current work of dramatic light and shadowing with careful precision given to every hair. Every watercolor is a journey where he discovers new paths, gets inspired by every brush stroke, and spends some treasured time with a special person or animal.
A few additional interesting facts about Nik:
he knows how to juggle
he found 135 4-leaf clovers in one year (and keeps laminated ones in his wallet to give to people that need a change in perspective, or some luck)
he lives in and is restoring a house built in 1773