A short backstory…
I started my adult creative journey by making small art for our home, back in Toulouse (France). It was a lot of decoupage and textured stuff. I was not comfortable with my own sense of style, and used books that offered art to reproduce.It was a good way to come back to it after decades of silence.
And then, I fell down the Youtube hole: I discovered women like Tamara Laporte, Samie Harding and Suzi Blu. These three ladies opened so many doors in my (he)art! That’s when I discovered both Mixed Media and Art Journaling.
They introduced me to the world of creating characters. That’s how I started painting girls, that later became the Nixies you know now.
Trying to break the clichés
Insecurities. Fears. Mental blocks. I still face them today. However, I learned how to notice when they enter my mind so I can do my best to bypass them.
I used to paint girls as I thought people would like them. It was forced but not conscious.
Please, don’t tell me what I do is “cute” because I won’t take it as a compliment (even if it probably is one). I create to feel, to make YOU feel.
Once I started making the art that needed to come to life, everything shifted.
The birth of my She’s A King series
It started as my 100 Nixies project. No pressure, no deadline, just exploring these characters and deepening my creative process.
Then, crowns appeared. On each of them. And the crowns are here for a reason… it became clear to me that this specific series was a whole and needed to be renamed.
She’s a King… why would they be a princess or even a queen when they truly are so much more than that. Their energy when I create them is palpable and loud. I feel rumbling in my insides, and humming in my Soul.
Their energy when I create them is palpable and loud. I feel rumbling in my insides, and humming in my Soul.
These Nixies are, for now, the zenith of the faces and characters I create. I am very proud of each of them and can’t wait to see what the last ten will look like. 100 faces to paint is a hell lot, but it is so exciting at the same time. I paint what comes forward on that specific moment in time. I let them come to me, tell me what they need and go for it. This is a huge step from a decade ago when everything started and they did not even have eyelids 😀
I wish you could feel their power.
I’m so excited for you and your work! x
Thank you ♥️
Nolwenn recently posted…She’s a King: how I use my Nixies painting as empowerment
They’re all so precious. I love the title of the series.
Thank you Lisa.
what an incredible journey! My first intro was with Effy, and through her the others as well. I’m still learning mostly by copy. I love whats coming out but still shy to try on my own yet. Thanks for posting, it lets me know, I could come into my own someday too. Beautiful and raw. I love it.
Kimi: don’t ever give up. Your style will eventually show up. You know, it took me plenty of years of exploring and trying, of love and hate. Copy, change one detail. Then another. And before you know it, you will have your own style before your eyes!
“Beautiful and raw”, I love this, thank you.
I *can* feel their power. <3
ooooh thank you!
They are all so emotive. I mean there is a sort of cuteness to some of them but with a depth, an edge, a sadness, an energy that makes them more. I get frustrated sometimes with some of my paintings feeling superficial and ‘cute’…..I’m excavating but also embracing some of my cute creations because it’s part where I am right now.
You know: I have nothing against “cute”. And I embrace the cuteness that sometimes comes up because if it does, it means it is needed at that specific moment in time.