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I won’t lie: this painting was both a blast to create and a bit of a challenge.
I told you about my love for Billie Eilish and her music countless times already but kinda kept it a secret that I actually Nixie-fied her 😉

Fighting the nervousness

I have to tell you that it was not meant to be realistic. You should know by now that this is not my thing. I appreciate artists who create realistic portraits though. I did use one or two reference photos, but not to copy them. It was more to get a more specific vibe from Billie Eilish…
I was (am) scared to share this full painting to the world, afraid of what people will think and say about it. But on the other hand, I also have this voice telling me “fuck it! do it anyway” so here we go 🙂
My daughters were REALLY excited about me doing a version of Billie Eilish as a Nixie, and I consulted them now and then to figure out which direction to take.

A few more pictures:

More fanart?

When I did my “365 Nixies in 365 days”, one of them was actually inspired by Willow Smith. And now I wonder: should I let these women inspire my art even more?
What do you think?

My creative process picked me, not the other way around. I experiment a lot, play around with how to get to specific results until I enjoy it.

I do get stuck

Frustration is something I have a really hard time dealing with. Whatever the cause of said frustration is, by the way.
However, when it comes to frustration within my process, I noticed something important: it is when frustrated that I get to become even more creative. How to get out of the block? How to improve this skill? It forces me to go beyond and eventually it feels great.
I learned to walk away. Let it sit for a while (sometimes, it takes me WEEKS to find a solution). This is also why I work on several artworks at the same time (and because I do not enjoy watching paint dry).

A lesson in surrendering

Painting intuitively might be a different experience and process for everyone. It is not easy to explain but putting it into words helps me see clearer.
I let my intuition run the show, but there is an intention behind every brush stroke I make. I am not just flicking paint around randomly, hoping it will create a masterpiece (if only!?). Intention has a big place in my creativity. Every piece starts and ends with intention. I might pick colours and patterns following these Inner Voices, but I know my stuff to make it work, too.
I firmly believe that when I create, I reach a state of consciousness that I can only access then. I may sound crazy, but that’s okay. I listen to the painting, what it wants, which patterns/colours/energy. I rely on it to go layer by layer.
I don’t say it is a straightforward process, because trust me: it is not. But this is how I do it, right now. It will probably evolve, because everything is always in motion.

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.

As I told you at the beginning of April, I embarked on The 100 Day Project this year.
On week 2, we had a long painful power outage. My ArtCave is located in our basement and it was about 10ºC (about 50ºF) inside our home. So let me tell you: no matter how badly I wanted to go paint in there, it did not happen for five days.

On the positive side

• It forces me to stretch my creative muscles
• I need to work on not boring myself
• It’s okay for me to explore new color palettes
• I have no pressure, or almost none
• I will end up with 100 paintings in the same series: to me, that’s huge!

On the less positive side

• I do feel bad when a day is skipped
• Some days, it’s like I am just repeating what I have already painted
• I am afraid to get bored eventually
• what the fuck will I do with 100 paintings?!

Some favorites so far:

I love playing in my art journal. It is no secret that it is my safe space. This is where I experiment. This is the place I go to when everything else feels too much, or not enough.

The fabulous Sarah Trumpp decided to dedicate 100 days to her stencil designs, creating one new every day for 100 days. She invited whoever wanted to join on their own challenge and called it #100daysofshenanigans (I invite you to follow the hashtag on Instagram to see what we are up to. It’s a very diverse group, so cool).

I wanted to go back to my art journal. I tend to avoid it when my feelings are not in a good place; afraid of what would come up out of me to the page… Stupid, isn’t it?

Enjoy the video:

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