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Kimberly Creque

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Nicholas Fowler

Nicholas Fowler

When and how did you start making art?

I know I have been making art ever since I used to scribble on the walls as a toddler. So I take that to mean I was always going to pursue art in some way!

Can you describe the time when you first realized that creating was something you absolutely had to do?

This might sound a bit strange, but as far as I can remember, I was, and still am, into video games. One of the earliest games I got exposed to actually featured a 2-D animated opening sequence, and seeing that made me want to start drawing more seriously. For whatever reason seeing something like that blew my tiny mind. I thought, oooh, I wanna make stuff like that too! I have a vague memory of being told by somebody that pursuing drawing or animation would be too hard or something like that. For whatever reason, that only made me want to try doing it more. Which, considering I was about eight years old at the time, I am surprised I had that much stubbornness to stick with my gut. It is kind of funny in retrospect.

Why do you make art now?

Because nothing else is stopping me at this rate. I just tend to dabble in whatever and just go along with it. Well, maybe that is a lie. I try not to dabble in anything realistic looking these days. In my high school I used to focus heavily on landscapes. Probably because that felt more appropriate. Although I still do like that sort of thing. Nowadays it is mostly about making whatever is fun.

Come to think of it, I think I just make art now in response to what is around me, in a purposeful attempt to seem different. I do not really like making stuff that looks exactly like what everyone else around me is doing. So if everybody wants to make sad-themed work with some strong message behind it, I just do the opposite. I say, let’s have this happy themed nonsense with no real message behind it except, oh that looks fun! I like fun. I also like things to just stay pretty simple. I would not really call myself that deep.

How do you know when a work is finished?

When it has the right vibes. That is sort of hard to define. I do not really think too deeply when in the moment. I just stop when it feels like the work is sufficiently doing its job. Whatever job that may be at the time.

What’s the first artwork you ever sold?

This is a long and strange story. In one of my high school art classes, there was a period where we were focused on painting. I should probably mention, I actually did not like painting all that much, but it was always something I was pressed into doing or always ended up falling back to. I did not really make work like a painter so much as just draw and color as I normally do, but with a brush. I was the fastest drawer in my class, and that extended to painting as well. I finished my first painting probably a few weeks before the rest of my class. So, in order for me to have some kind of work to do, my art teacher asked me if I wanted to create a 30” x 30” painting, since he thought I could do it. I don’t entirely remember what compelled me, I think the theme was animals, but I painted this scene of a glowy jellyfish. I remember days where I worked on it and my teacher and some of his colleagues would watch me work on it. It was kind of intimidating, I am not gonna lie. I completed it within five days.

So, to actually get to the selling part, my teacher informed me that somebody he knew who was some kind of jellyfish enthusiast wanted to buy that very jellyfish painting, for quite a sum of money. I won’t say how much, but it was a lot for my teenage mind, and certainly a lot more than the $10 cash prizes in the usual art festivals, which, I’m still not over actually. And I was 100% happy to sell it, despite not even having a bank account at the time. I did get my payment, and eventually some time later I got my bank account as well. And that is the first artwork I ever sold. Somewhere my mysterious glowy Jellyfish painting is out there and I have no idea where. I am glad I at least documented my process when creating that jellyfish painting, but in retrospect I also wish I would not have sold it. I did not know the buyer and I did not have direct contact with them. But, oh well. Hopefully that jellyfish enthusiast lady is still happy with it.

Where do you find ideas for your creative work?

Whenever I am stumped, I turn to the various artists of the Harlem Renaissance. I do not remember where or how this became a ready thing to turn to, but it has become a really good starting point. I do not think it is an era artists regularly refer to and it feels like a rich place to find ideas. Most of the actual scenery I make tends to be imagined. I tend to try invoke just the feel or vibe of the era, rather than duplicate it or directly refer to any other artist in particular.

Nobody else in my immediate circle of artist friends is doing this. So I will do it. I think it is cool, so that helps.

Contact Information: kimberlymcbusiness@gmail.com

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