Style Imitating Art | “Winter on the Marsh” by Dee Nickerson

About Style Imitating Art

Style Imitating Art is hosted by Salazar of 14 Shades of Grey, Shelbee of Shelbee on the Edge, and Marsha of Marsha in the Middle. Style Imitating Art challenges us to draw style inspiration from pieces of art. Every other Monday, one of the hosts, acting as presenter, selects an inspiration image that they will each post on their blogs. The following Monday, each host shares her art inspired outfit. Participants are invited to submit their art inspired outfits to the presenter by 10:00 p.m. EST on the Tuesday following the hosts’ art inspired outfit posts. The following day, Wednesday, the presenter will share all of the submissions on her blog.

You don’t have to be a blogger to join either! In fact, you don’t even have to join but you can still use the art to inspire an outfit just for the sake of trying something different. If you want to share your inspired outfit, we invite you do so on Instagram or any other social media platform that you prefer. Just be sure to tag Salazar, Shelbee, or Marsha or use #TeamLOTSStyle and #StyleImitatingArt so the hosts know you have joined. Go have some fun in your closets and join the SIA challenge next week!

This Week’s Presenter

Salazar chose this week’s artwork because she likes the naive art/primitivism style of the simple winter scene for our last post of the year. 

The Artwork

“Winter on the Marsh” by Dee Nickerson

About the Artist: Dee Nickerson

Diane Elizabeth Lord was born on June 10, 1957, at Spooner Row, Wymondham, Norfolk, England, to Colin Francis and Phyllis Elizabeth (Gent) Lord, who were married at Wymondham Abbey in 1956. Two years after the birth of their daughter, the young family moved to the nearby village of Wattlefield. At a very young age, little Diane, known to her family as Dee, found art to be an exciting and challenging form of escapism which prompted her desire to become an artist. In 1962, five-year-old Dee won a prize in the Brooke Bond National School Art competition for her painting “The Market Place.” She won the same prize five years later for her painting “Stone Henge.”

In 1972, she attended Wymondham Secondary School for Girls where she was enrolled in ‘O’ Level Art classes, creating posters and cards as part of her curriculum. After leaving school, Dee took a job in the local Briton Brush Factory followed by her marriage to James William Nickerson in 1974. The couple has one daughter.

Experiencing a few setbacks in the early 1970s, Dee resumed her work as a full-time artist in 1976. She relocated to Thelveton, Diss, Norfolk, in 1978, where she joined a local art community and learned watercolors, oils, landscapes, and still-life from more experienced artists. During this time, she also took a Diss High School Sixth Form class on Life Drawing and began a two-year Foundation Course at Great Yarmouth College of Art in 1982 where she won Art School prizes for her drawing.

From 1987 through 1997, Nickerson worked for Liberty retail at their Norwich branch where she was able to develop her love of design which can be found in the way the women in her paintings are often dressed. In 1992, she moved to Mendham, Suffolk, where she continued painting and exploring themes like the English countryside and country activities.

Dee’s whimsical artwork, bold colors, country themes, and primitive style have gained her a large following of fans in East Anglia, throughout the United Kingdom, and around the world. She held her first exhibition at the Assembly House Norwich in 1981 and has continued to regularly display her work at places like the Harleston Gallery, the Southwold Gallery, the Cork Brick Gallery, Churchgate Gallery, and Primavera Gallery. Dee currently maintains her art studio at Park Farm, Foxes Lane, Mendham, Suffolk.

About the Art: “Winter on the Marsh”

“Winter on the Marsh” is an acrylic painting by Dee Nickerson that she has available for sale as limited edition signed prints. I cannot seem to find the date, size, or location of the original work. Nickerson tends to use mostly acrylics and pastels in her works but she also does ceramics and hopes to further develop her printmaking skills.

Keeping with her trademark depiction of rural English life, “Winter on the Marsh” portrays a family and their dogs on a wintery walk through a marshy area, painted in a unique blend of naive and folk art styles. Her works are charming and nostalgic and really just give all the good feels. This piece is no different. I just love it!

Helpful Links

• Beyond the Page: Dee Nickerson
• Beyond the Page: Winter on the Marsh
• Suffolk Artists: Dee Nickerson
• Southwold Gallery: Dee Nickerson
• Midlibrary: Dee Nickerson

About My Outfit

As soon as I saw the painting, I focused on the woman/mother walking with her family through the marsh. Her long black/gray hooded winter coat very much reminded me of my old long black wool winter coat with a hood from the 1990s. I suppose it would be considered a vintage coat at this point. I have worn it every winter for the past 25-30 years and it still works for me all these years later. I accessorized my outerwear with a cozy gray scarf, a bulky gray hat, and gray fingerless mitts to mimic the woman’s attire.

Once my outerwear was squared away, I turn my attention to the outfit underneath. Inspired by the leafy print and earthy colors of the mother’s skirt/dress that is peeking from beneath her coat, I styled a newly thrifted dress that is similar in colors and features a leafy floral print. To give the shapeless dress a more flattering silhouette, I belted it with a newly thrifted macrame belt. Then I topped the dress with a new silk reversible jacket that I can’t get enough of. I wore it on its reverse side (the inside out) because the blue and brown colors in their horizontal pattern reflected the colors and horizontal pattern of the painting’s horizon.

I completed the outfit with my teal key necklace that was a gift from my children, a pair of blue and tan seed bead earrings, and my new eel skin cowgirl boots for a perfectly boho winter outfit that reflects the painting as well as my personality.

I hope you have enjoyed this final round of Style Imitating Art for 2025. Be sure to check out how Salazar and Marsha have styled this wintery painting. If you would like to participate in this Style Imitating Art challenge and have your outfit included in Salazar’s round up post on Wednesday, December 17, 2025, please be sure to send your photos to her at 14shadesofgreyblog@gmail.com by Tuesday, December 16, 2025, by 10:00 p.m. EST. We will be back on January 5, 2026, with Marsha’s next art inspiration. Until then, happy holidays!

Keeping it on the edge, 

Shelbee