Nicole Jeffords is an Austin-based writer and artist focused on people, politics and culture.
I have had two careers, one as a portrait painter, and one as a fiction writer.
I love to write, love the feeling it gives my brain. And here's the deal: the words seem to come from outside of me, waiting to be downloaded. I wait and listen. As soon as I hear them, they seem to run from my brain to my fingers… and there I go.
Please browse through the vast collection of serialized and short stories here on my website, their first stop before making their way further out into the world, and read those that call to you.
Most Recent Short Fiction
Once Upon a Stair
When Polly takes a brutal fall in a Florence hotel bathroom, she’s forced to confront more than just her own mortality. A chance encounter at an art exhibit plunges her into a surreal mystery that blurs the line between past and present, memory and illusion. Is the ghost of her ex-husband haunting her—or is something more sinister at play? In a city steeped in history, Polly must decide what’s real, what’s not, and whether some wounds need to be reopened before they can heal.
For me, portraiture is a revelatory process.
In addition to writing, I’m also a fine arts painter specializing in portraiture. My work combines elements that are both classical and expressionistic, dwelling on the natural beauty of the face as well as the subject’s raw emotional energy and psychological patterns that come through as the canvas develops.
From the Art Journal
I have a sixth sense when it comes to faces; you could call me a “portrait psychic” because I pick up a lot of information about people when I draw or paint them. In my Art Journal you’ll find reflections and commentary on people’s faces whether they be of friends, politicians or pop culture icons.
