Nikki's Art Gallery
Welcome Art Lovers! I am a 41 year old mother of three. I began painting back in 1987 while pregnant with my third child. Once I had the baby, I continued to study art outside my home once a week. It was a way for me to get out of the house and do something nice for myself. When I returned to work in 1988, with two babies in diapers, it was difficult to find time for myself so I stopped painting. I became disabled in 1996 and in 1998, resumed painting after joining the Kansas Art Guild and Wichita Oil Painting Society. Today, I am Vice President of the Wichita Oil Painting Society and I paint once or twice a week outside the home with a fine group of artists, one of which is my mother. I also paint at home one or two days a week, more often if I have orders to fill. Most of my work is copyrighted so if you want to borrow an idea, please send me email and ask permission first. Back in the 80's, I didn't have any original ideas myself so I used other peoples photos and art work as a guide for learning. These "borrowed" items cannot be claimed as original work nor be sold without copyright infringements. Where applicable, borrowed works will be noted as such. I hope you enjoy your visit and will come back often to see additions to my collections. Write to Nikki TxsGold@kscable.com
This was my first attempt at using pastels in 1988. This is also a reproduction of another artist's work. Unfortunately, I do not know the original artist's name nor in what medium the original painting was done. I was just learning how to use the chalk pastels and had no intention of selling the work or showing it in competition. I gave the painting to an aunt who lives in Austin, TX.
This was my second attempt at pastels. With three children, two in diapers, and working second shift, it seemed I never had time to just relax. I saw a similar scene in a Sony TV ad and decided that barnloft was exactly where I wanted to be. So I painted myself right into the picture and replaced the TV and remote control with a wagon wheel, cowboy hat and a couple of cats. The painting was "borrowed" for several years and I finally hired a private detective to track it down so I could reclaim it. The Hideaway now belongs to a very good friend of mine in New Jersey.
Fancy was a gift to us for our first wedding anniversary. She lived 12 long years and never lost that cute puppy quality. She had such an expressive face. I just had to capture that moment when her eyes would twinkle with love. This 1990 portrait began my love affair with pet portraits. Nothing is so satisfying as to present an animal lover with a painting of their beloved pet and to watch as their eyes cloud with tears in appreciation of a job well done.
This is the dog who owns us now. ShahTze is an American Eskimo. Just two months after our Pekenese died, I could no longer stand the empty feeling in our home. I didn't mean to get a dog this big, but she won my heart and we adopted her from our local Humane Society. I have to say, she's the best dog we've ever had. I can't imagine why her previous owner would have ever given her up. She's rendered in oil on 9x12 oval canvas.
Zak owns people in Oklahoma City. He's a German Shorthaired Pointer done in oil. His people pets have asked me to do another portrait of their ChowChow, Nik, who died recently. I am anxious to please them with a lovely rendering of their beloved pet whom they miss so much.
Rebel was completed June, 1999. Done in oil on 14x18 canvas, he is a gift for my nextdoor neighbor's son on his birthday in October. Rebel was his favorite dog in his childhood days and has long since passed away. Paintings such as these make ideal gifts for people who are hard to buy for.
This huge 36x48 oil on canvas took several months to complete. I was working from a photo which did not show any details in the eyes. I researched the breed and found someone close to me who owns this type of dog and was able to get a good look and feel of the bone structure in the head and face. The black dog originally had a tail, but the owners had the dog's tail cropped so the painting was shipped back and the correction made. Below this painting are closeup shots of each dog's head.That pretty much ends my collection of pet portraits and early works. The following images are just stuff I play with to expand my talents. In the art world, they call it "moving out of your Comfort Zone." I love going to the zoo and taking lots of photos. I carry a camera with me just about everywhere I go. I use a Pentax 1000 K-body with a zoom lens and tripod to get extreme closeup shots of various birds, animals and insects. These I catalog into a library to use as references for future paintings. But you have to be careful chasing bumble bees. Sometimes they chase you back.
Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita, Ks has to be one of the best zoos in the Midwest, if not in the entire country. They have a fabulous collection of wildlife, but my favorites are the birds. I took a photo of this black swan, native to Australia, at the zoo and rendered it first in pastel. It sold so fast that I only had time to snap a quick photo before having it matted and framed and shipped to the new owner. I really missed that swan so I did a second painting of the same swan in oil and by cooling down the colors, changed the entire feel of the painting. Only once before have I done a duplicate painting in another medium, and that was for a very good friend. Once finished with a project, I usually won't repeat the same project. But this one was fun.
This painting will be shipped to a good friend in Houston after I show it in July. I love gardening so included plenty of my favorite flowers. The hummingbird is a Broad Billed Hummingbird found mainly in the Southwest, rarely in Texas.
"Let Them Eat Cake" was my first blue ribbon winner. I was suffering in the hospital with Meningitis in January 1999 so my mother entered it in the show for me. That blue ribbon was the best medicine I could have had. It was done from a photo taken of my daughter, Sarah, on her eighth birthday. My children are frequently asked by me to pose in various states of activity so I can add these positions to my library. I do not do well at painting real people so I need all the help I can get.
This 1998 pastel portrait is an excellent example of what happens when you work from a photo that was taken with a flash. It is difficult to render shadowing on the face and it leaves the portrait with a flat appearence. If you work from a photo, try to find a good shot outdoors or in a bright room that was not taken with a flash.
This 1998 portrait is also done from a photo. I had a very difficult time with this one and never quite got the mouth and eyes right. The same baby featured above is in this shot and the next shot.
This 1998 portrait is of the same two individuals as above. I had a better photo to work from. All these are done in pastel. When doing portraits, the difficulty increases as the size decreases.
One of only a couple of landscapes I've ever done. If you happen to be in the Texas Panhandle, 60 miles or so south of Amarillo is Palo Duro Canyon. The scenery is breathtaking and eagles soar throughout. It's like a minature of the Grand Canyon. This painting is of a formation there called The Spanish Skirts.
This little 5x7 oil I did for myself. When my oldest daughter moved out I turned a now spare bedroom into my art studio and computer room. I decorated in coastal themes. I thinned these oils down very thin with Liquin and tried to give the painting the appearence of being a watercolor.
In the art clubs, we have catagories that our paintings must fit such as Still Life, waterscene, animals, citylife, etc. This helps us to expand our skills and get out of our comfort zones. The catagory was still life and I had nothing to do and no ideas. Before I got so crippled, I had refinished an antique sewing machine and had started working on a king size Dresden Plate quilt. I piled all the unfinished work products onto the top of the sewing machine and did a quick sketch on an old 10x14 canvas board. After completion, I had it matted to a standard size 16x20 so I could find a cheaper frame. Mounted under glass, it has an old world feel to it.
Thanks for stopping by and I hope you'll come back again to see if anything new has arrived. Don't forget to ask if you want to copy something. Feel free to send comments to me. I love sharing ideas and techniques with other artists. Have a glorious day.
Nikki
Nikki's Art Gallery2 Here is another page of my art along with some links to other neat places.
TxsGold@kscable.com