Today we’d like to introduce you to Nichole McDaniel.
Nichole, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
Finding beauty and simplicity in silhouettes always captivated me. Growing up in the Midwest I vividly remember raking leaves just so I could lay in them and look at the tree branches against the sky for what seemed like hours.
Always having a connection with my natural surroundings I found the organic lines of nature stunning. As I got older the design of architecture caught my attention. I loved traveling to Chicago with my family and being mesmerized by the tall buildings and almost poetic skyline. Some of my most recent works highlight the balance of architecture and nature and how the two create the world we live in everyday.
After some reflection, my Grandfathers both enjoyed woodworking and this resonated with me. Scrolling sawing, in particular, seemed to connect with me. The cutting out of an image out of a flat piece of wood using a scroll saw seemed challenging but with endless options of creation.
Later in college at Western Illinois University, a graphic design professor had us do a simple stencil project. Having a love for Hollywood Icons I, of course, chose Marilyn Monroe. I remember how fun it was to experiment with color, pattern, contrast, and texture. Clearly, I was hooked.
Somehow everything clicked the elements of detailed precise design with experimentation component made perfect sense. The last 11 years I have continued to push my creative boundaries with the process and materials. Always adding new elements I continue to push myself as an artist.
We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
Consisting of piers, bridges and cityscapes, my contemporary landscapes capture local surrounding and travel destinations from my adventures. My work is mixed media with a range of material consisting of spray paint, acrylic, resin, gold and silver leaf. By creating extremely detailed hand-cut silhouettes I am able to capture the unique details of these locations. Cutting with an X-Acto knife, these silhouettes can take up to 70 hours per hand-cut silhouette.
The process of creation when it comes to each piece is a balance of design and experimentation. Each background is one of a kind and creates a unique element to each work. Laying the hand-cut silhouette on top of the background, I then use spray paint to capture the image. Lifting the cutout is always like a grand reveal to see how it turned out.
Using this technique makes the edges of the lines crisp and yet soft. Liking to add more detail I paint a few highlights or outlines to the areas I want to accentuate. Most recently I have been adding silver or gold leaf adding more depth. My love of bright colors can be seen in many of my works, but I also relish in the subtlety of adding just a hint of color which gives it a whole different feel.
What is my art about or what does it represent to me… Well, I think overall it represents what makes sense in life.
Let me explain. This is not a pity party, everyone has had struggles in their life some greater than others. I don’t want to focus on the negative but rather it has brought focus to what makes sense in life. My conclusion is to “Make Memories your Destination.”
Being a happy and optimistic individual is my natural state, sometimes we have to fight not to be cynical and direct our attention to what is important. Having a sense of wanderlust, most of my work focuses on places I have been.
These are memories, destinations and little moments captured in time with my own artistic interpretation. Wanting to share with the audience a piece of something I found meaningful at that moment rather than the object. Our society has become so materialistic and at the end of the day, it is the experiences that create who we are.
Life is a journey, while I find joy in traveling to beautiful destinations, some of my most treasured memories consist of exploring local areas or spontaneous road trips. Over the years when people view my work and it is a local pier or maybe an iconic skyline, it is always interesting how a painting can connect. Often I hear stories of I used to go there with my dad when I was little, or I go surfing there. Remembering the joyful experiences is almost always what comes across rather than the unpleasant ones.
I love connecting with my audience and sharing their unique memories to each location and how different they are from one another. What I want to share with others is the importance of taking time to enjoy life and to make that your goal or destination.
What do you think it takes to be successful as an artist?
I guess there are levels to success, and with each goal achieved there are bigger acheivements to come. For where I am at in my artistic career, success comes with having my work connect with an audience. Personally my goal is to expand my audience and share my goal of Making Memories your Destination by appreciating the little and or magical moments in their own life.
Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
-The La Jolla Gallery: 274 Prospect Street La Jolla, CA 92037
-Lu Martin Galleries: 372 North Coast Hwy. Laguna Beach, CA 92651
Contact Info:
- Website: nicholemcdaniel.com
- Phone: 949.701.1101
- Email: nicholemcdanielart@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artistnicholemcdaniel/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nicholemcdanielart/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/nicholemcdaniel
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