About Ariana Nicolau

Ariana is an up-and-coming artist in the Los Angeles and Ventura areas. Her chosen medium is oil on canvas, however, she experiments with acrylic, graphite, and other mediums as well. Her work explores a variety of subject matters, but because of her perfectionist nature, her style usually gravitates toward hyperrealism. More recently, she has been pushing herself outside the box to try new styles in an effort to constantly broaden and improve her skills as an artist. 

Ariana has been drawn to art since she was a little kid. She went to galleries and museums from a very young age, giving her an appreciation for art and a drive to make it herself. When Ariana was in college, she decided to take an introductory art class for fun and it changed everything. Although she loved art, she never thought she was talented enough or had “permission” to think about art as a career opportunity, but that started to shift after she took that class. It was during that class that Ariana was able to create her first photorealistic graphite drawing and when she decided to get an art minor to go with my business degree as an excuse to take more art classes.

Despite her passion, the pandemic sent Ariana home early from her study abroad experience in Paris and forced her to get work in the finance sector. After a few years working in that industry and feeling a constant pull towards art, along with some life experiences that changed her priorities in life, Ariana finally decided in 2023 to make it her mission to create art.

Since then, that’s what Ariana has been doing. She has created a number of pieces and has had the privilege of showing some of them in art shows here in Southern California. As Ariana continues her journey, she looks forward to meeting new artists and art enthusiasts, along with constantly strengthening and growing as an artist herself.