If you’ve gazed in awe at the painted ceiling in Santangelo in Thomas, WV, or enjoyed a recent visit to Point Park in Parkersburg, chances are you’ve admired the work of artist Nichole Westfall. Nichole (aka Coco) is best known for her vibrant, large-scale murals and the infectious joy she brings to each community and space in which she works. Her pieces are often full of color and whimsy with bold florals and decorative elements, influenced by her multidisciplinary practice.

“Creating art can bring so much into your life if you just let it,” said Nichole, who hopes that her work brings viewers a little blip of joy and inspires them to make something of their own. “Whether that comes from loving it, hating it and wanting to make something better, it doesn’t matter.”

Each community that Nichole touches with her art is enhanced not only by the bright spaces she helps create, but also by a sense of pride in public spaces that may have previously been overlooked or underappreciated. And when members of the community are invited to participate in the artistic process, the feelings of ownership and personal investment are multiplied. 

In a world where art is in many ways more accessible than ever, Nichole has witnessed the impact of public art on individuals and communities firsthand. 

“It is surprising. It’s like seeing a mantis in the yard; you gasp, you stop, then you’re in awe. After the experience, you want to tell everyone about it, trying to share that excitement with others,” she said.

Public art is a showcase of what a community finds important. “It can bring life into, and change your experience in, a space,” Nichole said. “By investing in it, you show the community that possibilities and imagination are important. You can use what already stands, but make it into something else — even something magical.”

Nichole is grateful to be someone who makes public art, and said she’s surprised and appreciative every time someone tells her that her work has brought a little light into their lives: whether walking in Ritter Park in Huntington, WV, catching the paddle boat at Point Park in Parkersburg, WV or at their appointment at the Women’s Health Center in Cumberland, MD.

Part of the process she’s grown to love the most is the opportunity to work with other people. “It changes the way I design, the approach to painting and of course, the finished piece,” she said. “Working with others makes me create outside of my go-to ritual, and helps me learn more about the creation process and what can be made. It pulls you out of your head — it’s exciting and sometimes terrifying.”

While a few of her projects, like the Piney Creek mural with Melissa Doty and the Love Hope mural in Fayetteville with ND Tank, were executed as partnerships between two artists. Nichole has also completed several murals that included members of the community. Over 60 individuals from Parkersburg painted the first layer of the Point Park mural on pieces of parachute cloth as part of a community-wide event. The 76 pieces were then assembled on the floodwall in a grid and painted again by Nichole to blend seamlessly with the wall.

Using parachute cloth or polytab makes the process more accessible to anyone who has an interest in mural making. Nichole believes public art belongs to the community and takes advantage of opportunities to give people that ownership through the process.

As more communities witness the impact public art can have on shared spaces, muralists are in increasingly high-demand. But Nichole doesn’t think there is such a thing as too much public art. 

“It’s weird how we’ve decided that just a little bit of color is the right amount of color. How our surroundings should be void of expression, except for that one spot. If we can move through a world with color, images and noise just in advertising alone, we can move through a space full of public art.”

Currently based in Huntington, WV, Nichole is keeping herself busy. In fact, she responded to my email with paint on her hands, and at the time of writing this story, she is actively working on half a dozen projects: a Veteran’s Bench for Peak Living in Charleston, a mural for Healing Appalachia, a tropical-inspired nursery, a series of smaller canvas paintings for Wood Iron Eatery in Fayetteville and a mural for Fife Street Brewing in collaboration with Base Camp Printing Co.

She’s also (always) working on her house. “I’ve painted two murals, and hand-mixed the paint for two other rooms,” she said. “I’m sick of one mural, so it’ll most likely be covered by another soon.”

Born and raised in rural West Virginia, Nichole grew up in a holler riding the line between Clay and Kanawha counties. For as long as she can remember, she wanted to be an artist. In fact, she said there are photos that confirm that the urge began as a child.

“I always loved drawing, painting, gluing things together — in general, just making a mess and saying it’s beautiful,” she said.

Over the years, she used her artistic talent to create everything from window displays and backdrops to hand-poked tattoos and mixed-media sculptures. One of her favorite things she’s ever made are ceramic coffee mugs, ones donning hand-painted animal bodies and sculptural human-like faces. They are darling, slightly creepy and fantastic. 

In 2018, she graduated with a BA from West Virginia State University. During (and immediately after) college, she began taking mural jobs.

“I’d make large-scale art when the opportunity would come up,” she said. “However, that didn’t last long. I decided to take a break from making art, quickly packed up and moved across the country.”

That too, did not last long. About a year and a half later, Nichole came back home to West Virginia and was awarded the Tamarack Foundation’s Emerging Artist Fellowship.

“At that moment, I said ‘Well, I guess I’ll be a mural painter now.’ Making big art brought me the most joy, and at the time, it seemed like a sustainable career path,” Nichole said.

As a self-described “Defender of the Decorative Arts,” Nichole’s work celebrates the decorative, the colorful, the elaborate, the frivolous, the eccentric, the over-the-top, the unique and the fluff. Her love for the decorative arts started as a form of self-expression aimed at her own surroundings.

“I had always felt like I didn’t take root — like I was floating through spaces and didn’t necessarily fit. Decorating was my way of nesting,” she said. “That’s how I found a place and made space for myself. I decorated my surroundings, and that kept me grounded.”

Nichole remembers making crafts with her mother, watching her paint small patterns and images on anything and everything. “She’d paint the walls and give them texture, paint the cabinets and the lightbulbs; she wouldn’t sit still, and she’d decorate it all over and over. Both of my sisters are also creative, especially when working with spaces.”

Growing up in a double-wide full of handmade and hand-painted objects taught Nichole to appreciate beauty in things that people sometimes disdain or don’t notice. In school, she said there was a clear distinction between the decorative and the fine arts. “It felt elitist — so naturally, I wanted to gravitate toward what was seen as the ‘lesser’ or the two.”

Since making the leap into painting full-time, Nichole’s practice has evolved. At first, she was drawn to gigantic walls and wanted to take on projects on her own. “This wasn’t because I hated working with other people, but because planning is difficult, and I have quite a bit of anxiety,” she said. But recently, this has shifted for Nichole. “Not the anxiety, it’s still there. But I prefer the small jobs and collaborating with others.”

She’s also become the muralist who paints flowers. “I like to think of myself as the unofficial flower girl of the state — I feel like I’m just throwing them everywhere and seeing where they’ll stick.”

Her inspiration and intent have always been about decorating and making spaces that feel welcoming, like home — she just wants to do it outside.

“For years, I’ve wanted to do a project with furniture, lighting and wallpaper outdoors,” Nichole said. “So if you know of an underpass that needs to look like a bohemian living room, let me know.”

Her latest work, the Piney Creek mural, is her largest installation to date. Melissa Doty, an artist based in Charleston, WV, was contacted about creating the mural and invited Nichole to collaborate. The two designed together in Melissa’s home studio and then chose different portions of the mural to design separately.

“I usually paint freehanded, so thankfully, Melissa traced the design onto large pieces of polytab. The install took a few weeks to put up, but we spent months painting the mural at Base Camp Printing in Charleston.”

The result is an impressive, 3,800 square-foot mural that can be found along Interstate 64 in Glen Morgan, WV, featuring friends, flora and fauna and various activities available in the area, from mountain biking to kayaking.

Photos courtesy of Garrett Adkins 

Nichole said her favorite thing about making large-scale work is being able to use her entire body in the process. “I’m using this tiny little thing to make something much larger than myself — both literally and metaphorically. When I make public art, it continues to live a life outside of my hands, and my intention. It becomes an installation and a backdrop in others’ lives.”

Nichole keeps a running list of buildings and locations where she’d most like to make art. Her ultimate dream project would be to transform a motel in the middle of nowhere, where she designs each room and paints everything — even the pool. She’d work with the building owner from the start so that the design process would include not only decoration, but landscaping as well. It might take years to create, but the project would develop a life of its own and invite people to experience the space in a very dimensional and tangible way.

“My dream client is someone who has a sense of wonder and excitement within them,” she said. “They aren’t constrained by the world around them — they’re brave and curious and want to create something beautiful to share,” Nichole said.

This client would also have the means to comfortably compensate Nichole (and any other potential workers). Her goal isn’t to make a million dollars — but she wouldn’t turn it down, she laughed.

When she’s not painting, Nichole spends a lot of time watering her plants and tending her garden, annoying her cats, figuring out how to travel and looking in every thrift store imaginable for taxidermy birds. But mostly, she’s thinking about painting and her next big project — or the six she’s already juggling. Find Nicole on Instagram at @cocoispainting_ to see what she does next.