We were lucky to catch up with Nicole Rais recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Nicole, thanks for joining us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?
Art is play. I wish I had realized that back when I became immensely frustrated and discouraged with my art in school. I didn’t start out as some art prodigy or with an innate talent. I had always wanted, so badly, to be able to express what was in my imagination with those around me, but just couldn’t quite get to a place where it matched up. Even after all of the AP courses in High School and college art courses, I still struggled and became discouraged. I believed, for so long, that I would never reach the level of talent required to make the images I envisioned. Then, I became a mother and relearned that long forgotten knowledge: art is play. All it took was a tiny human, holding up a soggy, dripping, mess of watercolor on a piece of printer paper, beaming with pride. It all starts with allowing yourself complete freedom to create. No expectations and no rules. It was so simple, yet took me so long to learn. When you’re having fun creating, you do it with more frequency, when you do something with frequency, your skill improves.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
As far back as I have memories, I’ve always had an active and vivid imagination. Even in my dreams I would travel to fascinating places and see fantastical things that I had always wished I could share with others. That feeling of a deep desire to express my inner world with the outer world is what drew me to art. Where surrealism, nature, and storytelling drive my artworks in concept, Dutch golden age and baroque art styles inspire my art visually. These classic art styles, with their dramatic rendering of directional light, are perfect for visual storytelling. After many years of experimentation, acrylic paints eventually became my medium of choice because of their adaptability. Being able to quickly dry, paint over, and switch directions is what makes this medium as flexible as my ever shifting imagination. In more recent years, for similar reasons, I have began dabbling in digital art as well. Now that I am finally at a place where I can accurately express my own imagination, I strive to help others express theirs. Whether it be through painting and digital art commissions, or art instruction, I love providing people with a way to share their own ideas so that they may find the same joy in art that I have found.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
Buy more art directly from the artists! Show up at conventions and craft shows to show support. If buying art isn’t in your budget, share your favorite artists work and links to their pages on social media. Leave comments on art works and be descriptive. A well thought out comment with absolutely make an artists day in ways you couldn’t imagine!
Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
Pinterest! I wish Pinterest was available to me when I was younger. It has become such a vital tool for inspiration, reference, and organization for every project I begin. I like to make individual mood boards for new works of art that help me get in the creative space for each piece and keep me motivated. I also use it to neatly categorize different art techniques for quick access to references. I’m sure many artists can relate to struggles with organizing ideas and keeping on task. I found that using Pinterest as a handy visual scrapbook, has helped tremendously with preventing creative blocks.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://ncheriart.wixsite.com/home
- Instagram: NicoleCheriArt
- Facebook: Nicole Cheri Art
- Other: Tiktok: @nickelsandcherries
Image Credits
All photo credit goes to my amazing husband and photographer Brandon Phillip Rais.