Combined Scribblings 1 digital abstract painting by Nicki MacRae copyright 2024.

About Me

My name is Nicki. I’m a coastal dweller, wife, mother, artist, owner of a disabled body and injured brain, occasional poet, fossil hunter, amateur geologist, history nerd, fungi fan, Japanopophile and cannot be left in a room with marzipan. Seriously.

I am a Visual Artist working over a range of traditional and digital media. You can read my Artist Statement and a little more about my creative practice here.

I also occasionally write poetry, some of which you can find here.

Sometimes I make micro films to capture the essence of a time or place – which I generally publish on my Instagram account.

Photography plays an important part in my creative practice, but due to disability I now only work with mobile technology. Recent work is posted to Instagram, but a small sample of older work is here.

I’m also a (very wobbly and slow, but dedicated) fossil hunter, trying to make sense of the Jurassic deposits in this northern outpost of Scotland. Occasionally I may get around to making some blog posts about this, if so you’ll find them here.

It sits nicely alongside trying to learn about geology. I’ve been chasing rocks my whole life, one way or another – growing up in a limestone karst landscape, hunting standing stones & ruined buildings, following themes of archaeology and ancient stone working as part of my art practice, painting mountains and the landscape, beach combing for pebbles – so it’s fitting I should finally sit down to properly study the subject.

Where I Live

I live in the Northern Highlands of Scotland, about 35 miles north of Inverness, on a latitude more northerly than Moscow (which often surprises people).

This is one of Europe’s least populated areas, and is a geographically diverse region encompassing mountains, hills, pockets of ancient woodland, large modern forestry plantations, wetlands, Sites of Special Scientific Interest, castles and crofts, brochs and cairns, a complex coastline (high cliffs, sandy beaches, large estuaries, sea lochs and firths), vast wildernesses, isolated communities, small towns of a few thousand people; as well as large sporting estates, farms, fishing, some small industry, and a growing tourism sector.

I was born in the South West of England, but moved here over 20 years ago, and have now lived in the Highlands for most of my adult life. Initially I came here with my husband as volunteers, travelling in our old 1960s VW split screen camper van, but we loved the lifestyle and decided we wanted to bring-up our family here. Our (now) teens have known no other life and find the idea of living in a city a bit baffling!

Nicki MacRae photograph - artist and writer. A white woman with blonde hair pinned up into a chignon looks away from the camera dreamily. The smiles slightly. She is colourfully dressed, with red cat eye glasses and a big vintage brooch. Behind her are paintings is pastel colours.
Bright greed weed covering rounded sea boulders along a muddy coastline, with dull winter sun reflecting off puddles . Low grey hills in the distance sit under a cloud heavy sky with weak blue patches. Cool light fills the scene.
A white woman smiles at the camera. She wears vintage style clothing and is standing in front of a wall display of sea pottery.
A short, white, blonde woman in hiking clothing sits on the ground on piles of flat, beige and grey-coloured split slate stones, fossil hunting for fossil fish. Her adaptive hiking poles - her mobility aids - lie next to her.
A glowing sunset sky in deep rich oranges, purples and blues, over mud flats and shoreline with black silhouetted rocks. Low hills can be seen in the far distance. Light reflects off wet sand, mirroring the sky colours.
A white 30s woman with bobbed blonde hair and cat eye glasses sits in a hospital bed in an operating gown, with medical equipment in the background.
A short woman in hiking clothing and walking boots is seen in silhouette against a sunset sky, walking over rippled coastal mudflats with a rugged rollator mobility aid, with air tyres.
A pale white woman with tied back blonde hair is seen in dim lighting, head and shoulders. She wears floral pyjamas and is lying flat in bed, eyes closed.
A white woman with silver blonde bobbed hair smiles at the camera. She is drawing and surrounded with art studio paraphernalia.
A white woman in hiking clothes sits to rest on the seat of her Rollz rollator whilst hiking in woodland. She looks exhausted.
A view across the Dornoch Firth with mirror like reflection of the dark distant hills, fluffy white clouds and azure sky into the very calm water.
A blonde haired 40-something white woman wears cat eye sunglasses and is lying on grass, resting and looking tired. She rests her arm on her forehead to block the glare of the sun, and has a festival type paper wristband.