Hello, I'm Nicole, a mixed media artist, painter and spirit junkie, who loves making mixed media art. My work can be described as “mixed media gypsy art”. I am an authentic spirit who thrives on cultivating a creative life. For me, the act of creating art is healing, inspiring and energizing. When I'm in my studio I am in touch with the deepest parts of my authentic self. I can often be seen chair dancing when I really get into a piece! I've been a Paint Nite teacher and find the greatest joy when teaching others to unleash their creative spirit into the world. With a recent move from Canada to the US there are so many creative inklings that I can't wait to tap into.
This is how I arrived here… Art was my best subject in high school and my absolute favorite class. The teacher wanted to give me one hundred percent, but he said no one is perfect and the school doesn't allow teachers to give one hundred as a final grade, so I got ninety nine. That gave me great confidence that I was actually good at something! I knew I didn't want to be a 'starving artist', though I had dreams of moving to New York and living in Soho. At eighteen years old after seeing the movie Toy Story I decided graphic design would be the next best thing. I could create all day and get paid well to do it! It seemed the best of both worlds. So after high school graduation I set out on my own and moved to another city to study graphic design. After a 10 month course I moved back home and landed my first design job. I was all grown up now and loving what I was doing.
As my design career morphed into marketing and communications, I always found time to sketch, art journal, make greeting cards, scrapbooks and home decor. I loved the challenge of making hand made gifts for friends and family. I would create a piece for birthdays, weddings, baby showers and happily give it away. Giving away my creative gift always brought me the greatest joy.
Along this journey I was guided by wonderful teachers like; Suzy Blu, Tamara Laporte, Kelly Rae Roberts, Flora Bowley, Donna Downey, Jane Davenport and more. Their generous gifts of online video tutorials helped me unleash a whole different part of my art. They taught me how to be brave, honest, playful and authentic. As I spent time in my studio creating under their guidance I could no longer ignore the whispers of my soul. I wanted to be a working artist and I wanted to help others tap into their creative talents so they can turn the worries of the world off, dive into paint, glue, paper and unleash the blissful joy that comes from creating something with their own hands.
Fast forward fifteen years and we arrive at this website, this blog, and these tutorials. It is the place where I am my most joyful, most at peace and most driven to cultivate a creative life. I hope each time you come here, you feel energized and motivated to illuminate your awesomeness. ~ Nicole
