Scott Nickerson is an American portrait painter known for classic realism, layering color and texture the way old masters once did. Since graduating from SVA in 1996, he has painted countless commissions, including the Valastro family from Cake Boss.
He sees every portrait as a new challenge, something fresh that pushes him further. Teaching wasn’t his plan at first, but stepping in for another instructor changed him, helping him grow from shy to confident.
Color is central in his work. He learned from Steven Assael and Nelson Shanks to push hues to their extremes, seeing browns as mixes of warm oranges and reds cooled by greens and purples.
He builds paintings from dark to light, transparent to opaque, comparing shadows to the sea and highlights to mountain peaks. This structure keeps his compositions balanced.
His tools range from fatty mediums for translucent shadows to bristle brushes, mops and sables for shaping paint. He favors Escoda brushes and warm red palettes that help reveal subtle cool tones in skin.
Nickerson teaches weekly classes in Red Bank, NJ, guiding dozens of students in portraiture, still life and technique. Many have gone on to earn commissions of their own.
He continues to paint, exhibit and build a future solo show, treating art not as a job but as a full‑time way of living.
