Born from Loss. Built from Strength.
Picture this: you've spent years building a life around painting. It is how you think, how you feel, how you make sense of the world. Then your health takes it away from you. Not a creative block — a genuine, physical inability to paint the way you once could. What do you do?
Most people would grieve it and move on. Nicole Martinelli did something far more remarkable. She invented a new way to paint entirely.
"As an E-Painter I am essentially incorporating my previous painting skills as an oil painter. I create my E-Paintings organically from my mind. I do not believe in being used by the technology — I believe in using it to my advantage."
— Nicole MartinelliThe Hand-Painted E-Painting was born from that crucible of loss and determination. Using a stylus as her brush and a touchscreen monitor as her canvas, she creates luminous, nature-inspired works that carry all the intuitive energy of traditional oil painting, merged seamlessly with the possibilities of the digital age. Galleries noticed immediately. Then collectors. Then the international art world.
Her husband Peter — who first recognised her photographic talent and has encouraged her every step of the way — is a constant presence in her story. So is her late grandmother, who first introduced her to fine art and painting. Her television debut on Women in Power will bring this full story to a national streaming audience for the first time.
"I survived very difficult life circumstances. But I came to understand that if I had the strength to survive everything I had endured, then I also had the strength to pursue my dreams and make them a reality. That same strength exists within all of us."
— Nicole Martinelli