Nicky Belletier grew up in the bucolic surroundings of Syracuse, New York. She was drawn to the arts at a young age and envisioned a life as an artist. Despite her love of drawing and painting, she also developed a deep interest in science, which led her to complete a bachelors degree in Biology at Bryn Mawr College and a PhD in Molecular Biology at Princeton University.

In the midst of her scientific training, she continued to engage with her artistic side whenever possible. In 2008, she took a semester off of her typical coursework to study drawing and printmaking during a semester abroad through Temple University Rome. During her graduate training, she found spare moments to make art in a nook she claimed in the attic of her shared house.

Nature is my primary inspiration. Painting has become the process through which I come to understand the magical color and light of our natural world. I am drawn to vibrant pigments to emphasize and sometimes exaggerate the colors I see in the landscape. In my recent work, I have especially been experimenting with interference and iridescent paints and metallic materials