Nicky Kriara is a mural painter and sculptor, born and raised in Portland, Oregon. She studied painting in Los Angeles, CA and Amherst, MA before earning her Bachelor of Fine Arts from The University of Oregon in ceramics. She ran Epitome gallery for two years in NW Portland, studied Environmental Education (Leadership for Ecology, Culture & Learning Program) at Portland State, and spent almost ten years working in the field of stop-motion animation. She has worked on three animated feature films with LAIKA Studios as a scenic painter and puppet test-animator. She now runs a ceramic production & design company called Niko Far West, making decorative planters, creating sculptural installations, and painting murals.
I love working on large-scale custom projects. I design contemporary modern indoor/outdoor murals, paintings, and sculptures for commercial and residential projects. I’ve worked with The Portland Street Alliance, RACC, Bullseye Glass, and Heidi McBride Art Consultancy. Mural locations have included a yoga studio, a barbershop, low-income apartment lobbies, apartment courtyards, restaurants, and patios. Subject matter has included The Pacific Northwest (PNW), birds/owls, plants and flowers, (tulips/monstera/peony/native species/tropical), female athletes for Adidas, multiple BIPOC community figures of different backgrounds and professions, Mount Hood, The Portland Trailblazers, a farmer’s market, abstract lines, and modern geometry. See mural examples here.
