Employees of a Bettendorf financial planning company could be forgiven for thinking they work in an art gallery.

Nikulski Financial, Inc. (in northeast Bettendorf) at 4275 Ontario Drive, is inviting the public to a reception today (Friday, July 14 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.) to celebrate the acquisition of 54 paintings from local artists, that are displayed throughout the new office building.

Brian Nikulski, owner and certified financial planner at Nikulski Financial, was looking for suggestions on how to decorate his newly constructed office when he reached out to David Anderson, a well-known local artist and painter. The financial advisory firm outgrew their old office at Utica Ridge and Spruce Hills and moved last August.

When they were walking through the new 4,800-square-foot space (which houses eight employees), an idea arose. What if instead of buying one piece of local art, the whole place could be filled with art from regional artists?

“I’ve always been a fan of supporting the Quad Cities,” Nikulski, a Rock Island native, said Friday morning. His daughter, Ariel, has taken painting lessons from Pat Bereskin (Mrs. B) since second grade. Ariel has been a big help in decorating the office.

“We couldn’t be happier with all the work from the artists and we are so proud that they were all made by artists native to our area,” Nikulski said. “We hope everyone in the community will come to our free open house on Friday, July 14th to view all of the pieces, meet some of the local artists and enjoy drinks and hors d’oeuvres.”

“We wanted Quad-City themes, local landmarks,” he said Friday.

“This is great for local artists to get exposure by being in the office of Nikulski Financial, Inc.,” said David Anderson. “Just think about it. Would we have recognized the brilliance of a local artist like Grant Wood, who is from this area, when he was creating his artwork?”

Anderson worked with his friend, longtime artist and teacher Pat Bereskin (who runs the Art Academy at the Figge), to seek out area artists to submit original works for Nikulski.

“He didn’t want photography,” Bereskin said Thursday. “As we began to accumulate and assimilate the works, we found there was a nice breadth of art,” she said of the outdoor, many water-related themes, depicting Quad Cities scenes throughout all four seasons.

“This is truly a win-win situation. Local artists get recognition from being featured at Nikulski Financial’s office, the local community can enjoy viewing the pieces on display, and the money paid for all of the artwork is benefitting local artists and a scholarship fund for future artists,” Anderson said.

New scholarship fund created

Beréskin had the unique idea of taking part of the acquisition proceeds to create a scholarship fund with it so young artists at the Art Academy can continue to learn and enhance their skills, even if they cannot financially afford to.

“I never want to turn any student away,” Bereskin said, noting the new fund is “significant” and is still being worked out.

Three of the paintings for the office building are by Nikulski’s daughter Ariel, a talented artist Bereskin has taught since she was 8; she’s now going into her sophomore year at Assumption High School in Davenport.

Ariel also studies oil painting with Anderson and has gone on art study trips with Bereskin to Italy and France (the latter a two-week program this year in Normandy and Paris that ended June 22).

“David told Ariel that she had grown so much with her skills that he wanted her to be one of the artists to produce work for the gallery at Nikulski Financial,” says her bio on the firm’s website. “Ariel was shocked and honored to be entrusted with such a large project. Through this project, she has grown substantially as an artist and she plans to continue to grow her art skills as her journey in art continues.”

“This is truly special what Nikulski Financial did here and we hope the people of the QCA will enjoy the more than 50 beautiful paintings,” Bereskin said. “I bet you will find a new favorite artist after going to the opening.”

She estimated this is the largest investment in displaying artwork in the Quad Cities by a private company, other than the John Deere headquarters in Moline.

“It’s very satisfying, the fact that he supports all the arts,” Bereskin said of Nikulski. “He has a very special place in his heart for visual arts because of his daughter.”

Thirteen local artists are featured. Besides Anderson, Bereskin, and Ariel Nikulski, they are Brad Bisbey, Marrin Cisna, Larry Jon Davis, Rose Moore, Jerry Murphy, Pat Halverson, Emma Hubner, Gail Riggins, Lisa Walden and Robert Zeidler.

Gave up design control

Nikulski, the financial expert, said he wanted to “stay in my lane, so I gave 100% of design control to David and Pat, and I wanted them to pick what was best for the office,” he added. The art is displayed just on the main level of the two-level building, and they’re not crowded, Nikulski said.

One conference room features four Anderson paintings, representing the four seasons.

Ariel has studied dance with Ballet Quad Cities and Brian loves local theater.

“I’m not very artistic myself,” he said. “My grandfather went to Augustana on an art scholarship. My father picked up Bob Ross-style painting as a hobby, and my sister Mandy is a pretty accomplished artist as well. That gene skipped me, but I definitely have an eye for it, an appreciation for it.”

“I can just tell you what I like about it,” Nikulski said, noting his favorite Ariel painting is the large one she did of their backyard from their old house on the Davenport-Bettendorf border. “It was one of my favorite pictures — it’s a beautiful, tranquil view.”

“Watching her progress as a young woman, she definitely has a really good eye,” he said of his daughter.

Bereskin urged him to have today’s public reception, to raise awareness of talents of these local artists.

“That made me feel fine — this isn’t about me, it’s helping the arts,” Nikulski, who called himself a private person, said. “It’s pretty impressive and I think it’s one of the best-kept secrets in the area. They sometimes don’t have a venue to let the world know.”

You can learn more about all the artists on the Nikulski Financial website HERE.