Nicole's Story Behind The Painting:
I went out for a walk around my neighborhood in the early evening, just as the sun was about to set. While the sky turned to pastel shades, I took note of neon street signs and otherwise dark storefronts with pops of red, neon green, bright blue striking through.
After stopping in front of a residential block, I noticed a diagonal shadow cast across the upper half of a house. The trees, lit from below, looked almost white against the sky, which had become clear and black by this point. I snapped a quick photo of this view and texted it to a special someone with the message, "I was just thinking of you & feeling lucky & feeling the world seems even more beautiful since we've met".
I know this word is not used too often, but the best way to describe my experience of that walk is this: I felt dazzled. A sense of awe, joy, and wonder filled me up, just looking at the same city blocks that I always walk past but this time, through the lens of love.
I made this artwork directly afterward. We tend to use the phrase "rose-colored glasses" to signify that we’re doing too much overlooking of what’s bad. Yet, this work explores the idea that seeing through rose-colored glasses and letting positive feelings color our surroundings is tied to feeling joy. At any given time, there is so much to be worried and pained and angry about, which is also important to feel and grapple with. And at any given time, there is something beautiful, something strange and sweet, something funny, to notice. As an artist and a person, I challenge myself to see both.
- Subject Matter: love, beauty, duality, city
- Created: March 2021
- Collections: Abstract, Mixed Emotions