February 2018 Artist - Karina Nyquist

Artistic style/mediums:  Most of my artistic career has been videography and animation. I started painting to get a break from the computer screen and watercolor quickly became a major part of my creative expression. Regardless of medium, I often describe my artistic style as being obsessively detailed. However, for as controlled as my painting style is, I tend to keep each piece open to endless interpretations.

Inspiration:  Almost all of my art is driven by an attempt to make sense of experiences that don’t (and may never) really make sense. Sometimes I feel like I’m trying to reveal harmonies composed of complete contradictions. The inspiration for this particular body of work comes directly from everyday experiences. The images are all from places I have been and things I have seen. The words are all from a collection of things I’ve heard, said, or thought.

“Artist”:  Anyone who makes something that means something is an artist in my mind. The term “artist” shouldn’t be reserved for professional creators or those who make a living from making art. I’ve always considered myself an artist, but it was easy for me because I happened to be good at drawing when I was quite young and I was often told that I was a “good artist”. When I was a teenager I started to take art making more seriously and began to pursue a visual art related career.

Making space to make art: I go through phases of heavy art making. Some months I paint almost every night. Some months I only make one piece of art for the entire month. It’s easy to make time and space when I feel like I need a creative outlet. When it’s not easy to carve out space, I sometimes bribe myself to make art with treats or fancy new art supplies. If that doesn’t work I just don’t make art and then I get grumpy and start to hate everything, which usually leads to coloring an entire page of my sketchbook solid black with a ballpoint pen, and I call it art.

Hobbies: My life outside of art involves a lot of bicycling around Seattle. Hiking and beer drinking are also cherished activities of mine. My dayjob is at a coffee gift and subscription company located on Capitol Hill, where I am enjoying becoming a coffee snob.

Connection to Seven: My connection to Seven Market is my good friend and fellow artist, Emry, who kindly invited me to show my art alongside theirs. I’m honored to be showing at Seven and I’m excited for the opportunity to share my work with more people in my community.

Website:  www.karinanyquist.com
Instagram:  @karinanyquist
Blog:  http://karinanyquist.tumblr.com