Eagle artist Nicole Hitchcock is opening the doors to her creative space for the first time this October, inviting visitors to experience original works inspired by the foothills around her home. She has also recently signed an art licensing agreement, a significant step for her growing practice with the potential to introduce her work to an international audience.
And yet, right here in Eagle, Hitchcock remains one of the Treasure Valley’s best-kept artistic secrets.
That is about to change.
During the Boise Open Studios Collective Organization tour—better known as BOSCO—visitors will have the opportunity to step inside Hitchcock’s creative space, meet the artist and see original works inspired by the Eagle Foothills.
I’ve always described BOSCO as the Parade of Homes for artists. Instead of touring beautiful houses, you visit the private spaces where local artists dream, experiment and create. You can meet the artists, learn about their processes and purchase work directly from the people who made it.
This year, pull up the BOSCO map and look for the artists located in Eagle. Nicole Hitchcock is one stop you definitely do not want to miss.
Hitchcock’s beautiful new creative space is not a traditional retail location. It is where she paints, meets with collectors and creates artwork inspired by the landscape surrounding her Eagle home.
Originally from the Bay Area, Hitchcock and her family moved to Idaho in 2019. Before becoming a full-time artist, she spent decades in the beauty industry.
“I’m dyslexic, so I wasn’t one of those kids who was just set for college,” Hitchcock explained. “I had to figure out what I was going to do.”
After developing a close relationship with her own hairstylist, Hitchcock entered a regional occupational program while still in high school. By graduation, she was assisting at a respected salon in San Francisco and had already moved out of her parents’ home.
She eventually worked her way up to owning a 4,000-square-foot Aveda salon with 20 stations and a full team of employees.
Her salon also served as an art gallery, regularly featuring the work of local artists. Art was always part of Hitchcock’s life, but it became especially important after she and her husband moved to Idaho.
“I’m terrible at being retired,” she joked.
While homeschooling their son, who has special needs, Hitchcock needed a creative outlet. She began painting at home, but the hobby quickly took over the house.
“I had always done a little bit of art,” she said. “I started getting into it as a hobby, and then it started taking over our house. Paint was everywhere.”
A residency through Surel’s Place in Garden City gave Hitchcock room to grow. What began as a creative escape steadily evolved into a business—and now that business has brought her closer to home in Eagle.
Her newest body of work is inspired by the Eagle Foothills, a landscape she experiences while riding her bike near her home.
“It’s all based on the Eagle Foothills,” Hitchcock said. “I ride my bike out there because I’m so close, and that’s what inspired the series.”
The paintings exist somewhere between abstract art and recognizable scenery. They don’t look like photographs, yet you can still see the foothills, fields and open Idaho sky within them.
They feel almost like memories of a landscape rather than literal reproductions.
“I call it abstract art because it doesn’t look like a photograph,” she explained. “You can see the brushstrokes. There are a lot of Idaho landscape artists who do beautiful work, but this is something very different.”
The collection is soft, peaceful and wonderfully calming. Hitchcock understands firsthand how our surroundings can affect the nervous system. As the mother of a child with special needs, she has become especially aware of sensory experiences and the energy created by color, movement and texture.
“When you’re creating, you take on the energy of what you’re creating,” Hitchcock said. “For me, this work is all about sensory and nervous-system management.”
That awareness is reflected in her paintings. Walking into her space feels like taking a deep breath.
“The big thing I’m trying to do is get people here to see the originals,” she said. “The collection is based on the Eagle Foothills, and I also have other work that will be available for purchase for the first time that weekend.”
That is what makes BOSCO so special. You aren’t simply looking at finished artwork hanging on a gallery wall. You’re meeting the person behind it, seeing where it was made and hearing the story that brought it to life.
Nicole Hitchcock may be a hidden Treasure Valley gem today, but with her work entering the international marketplace, she is unlikely to remain hidden for long.
BOSCO is truly the Parade of Homes for artists—and Hitchcock’s Eagle stop belongs at the top of your tour list.
Visit Nicole Hitchcock during BOSCO on October 10 and 11, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., at 335 S. Edgewood Lane, Suite 100, Eagle, Idaho.
