Field Review | Artist Interview Series
In conversation with
Melita Nikolaou
Melita Nikolaou is an Australian artist based in Melbourne. Working primarily in oils, she creates floral and portrait paintings inspired by close observation of the natural world and the human experience.
Before dedicating herself to painting full-time, Melita built a successful career as an award-winning makeup artist and business owner. A significant family health issue prompted a shift in priorities and led her to reassess her professional path, ultimately reconnecting her with lifelong passion for fine art. What began as a period of reflection became a meaningful return to creative practice.
Determined to deepen her practice, Melita completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts and transitioned into a full-time art career. Her background in makeup artistry continues to inform her work through a refined sensitivity to colour, composition, and visual storytelling.
A notable milestone in her creative journey was winning a body art competition themed 'Festivities of Life', where her vibrant floral design reflected the love of colour and expressive imagery that remains central to her work today.
Working from her Melbourne studio, Melita continues to develop a distinctive body of work that celebrates beauty, change, and the quiet details of everyday life.
From:
Australia
Artist Statement
Her practice explores beauty, transformation, and the passage of time through floral and portrait painting. She is interested in how these subjects connect through presence, emotion and change as well as a reminder of how fragile life can be.
Many of her floral works begin in her garden, where she selects flowers at different stages of life, some in full bloom, others fading. Arranged in water in her studio, they become the focus of close observation. Over days and sometimes weeks, she studies their shifts: petals opening and falling, colours changing, stems bending, and forms evolving.
Working directly from observation, she creates sketches and photographic studies that capture fleeting moments and support of development of each painting, balancing observation with interpretation.
She is drawn to flowers not only for their peak beauty, but for the character they reveal as they age. Their changing life reflects growth, resilience, impermanence and renewal. Through painting, she seeks to honour each stage.
Whether working on florals or portraits, she focuses on presence and authenticity . Through colour, light, and layered oil paint, she approaches her practice as a form of caring, an attentive way of looking that values and preserves fleeting moments. She invites viewers to slow down and notice what is often overlooked.
Tell us about yourself and your artistic background.
My journey into art developed quite organically. I come from a beauty and makeup background and built a career as an award-winning makeup artist and salon owner. Creativity has always been central to my life, and alongside my work in beauty, I also pursued fine art, eventually completing a Bachelor of Fine Arts.
A key moment for me was entering and winning a body art competition called 'Festivities of Life'. I represented spring by painting the body with flowers, butterflies, leaves, and blooming forms. It was the first time I explored the connection between the human body annd nature in my work. Looking back, many of the ideas I still explore today began there.
How would you describe your artistic practice?
My practice is shaped by both my fine art education and my background as a makeup artist. Years spent studying skin, light, texture, and subtle shifts in expression taught me to observe people closely, and that sensitivity continues to influence my painting today. I even use makeup brushes in parts of my process, creating a direct connection between my past and present creative practices.
Nature, particularly flowers, is a constant source of inspiration. I am drawn to their beauty and the way they change through different stages of life. Family, memories, and everyday experiences also shape my work.
While my compositions are carefully considered, I leave room for intuition and discovery. Through painting, I explore ideas of connection, change, and the moments that stay with us over time.
What themes or ideas are most important in your work?
Memory, devotion, family, impermanence and emotional resilience are recurring themes throughout my work.
I have always been drawn to the emotional weight of the human face, but often felt there was something unspoken that couldn't be expressed through facial expression alone. Flowers became a natural extension of that inner world. Over time, they evolved from decorative elements into a visual language capable of carrying emotion, memory, symbolism, and personal history.
I am particularly interested in flowers at different stages of their life cycle. Their fragility and resilience mirror the human experience. They become metaphors for growth, loss, transformation, and the passage of time.
What inspires your creative process?
Nature is one of my greatest sources of inspiration.
I love flowers and observing their changes as they move through different stages of life. That close relationship with plants gives me a personal connection to the imagery I paint.
Family and lived experience are equally important influences. Conversations, memories, and relationships often find their way into my work, shaping both the subject matter and emotional atmosphere of my paintings.
Can you tell us about a recent artwork or project?
One recent work is “My Promise”, a painting that explores devotion, memory, and the physicality of promises.
The figure cradles an orange poppy in full bloom, bound with a blue ribbon and held close to the heart. The ribbon suggests care, and intention, while the gesture itself feels intimate and private, like a vow carried inwardly rather than publicly declared.
The painting was inspired by my experience caring for my mother after a stroke. During that time, I made a promise to care for her.
Although it was never publicly spoken, it carried immense emotional weight.
Surrounding the figure are flowers in varying stages of life, some vibrant, others fading, reflecting cycles of growth, loss, and renewal.
Through the work, I wanted to capture how love and responsibility can feel, both powerful and fragile at the same time.
What challenges have influenced your development as an artist?
The greatest challenge was stepping away from a successful business to become my mother's full-time carer. It was a decision made from love, but it required significant personal and professional sacrifice.
Her illness and eventual passing changed my perspective profoundly. They taught me the value of time, importance of presence, and the need to pursue what feels meaningful.
Those experiences continue to influence my work. They encourage me to create paintings that are emotionally honest and grounded in lived experience rather than purely aesthetic concerns.
What role does art play in your life today?
Art is both a form of reflection and a way of preserving moments that might otherwise disappear.
For me, painting exists between holding on and letting go. It cannot stop time, but it can create a pause, a moment where something is observed, honoured, and remembered. Much of my work comes from a desire to acknowledge the passing of time while preserving the feeling, memory, or presence that remains.
Today, art gives me purpose, connection, and a way to make sense of the experiences that have shaped my life.
What are you currently working on?
One of my current paintings I'm working on is titled 'My Father, My Hero', an oil portrait honouring my father in his 90th year.
He sits for the portrait in my studio while he shares stories about the olive trees in his village and his childhood in Greece. The light falls across one side of his face and the olive branch beside him reflects his lifelong connection to his heritage.
Like the olive tree, he has stood strong through life's seasons, shaped by time and experience. I admire his quiet strength, his devotion to family, and the values he has passed on to me. The painting is both a portrait and a tribute to the man who has been my guide, teacher, and hero.
What are your future goals as an artist?
My goal is to continue developing a distinctive body of work that explores the relationship between portraiture and botanical symbolism. I hope to exhibit more widely, connect with diverse audiences, and continue pushing my practice both technically and conceptually.
Most importantly, I want my paintings to create meaningful emotional connections and offer viewers space for reflection and recognition.
Where can readers follow your work?
Readers can follow my artistic journey through my website and social media platforms, where I regularly share new works, exhibitions, works in progress, and insights into my creative process.
