CARMINE MAGAZINE

Carmine Magazine: How would you define your style?
Nikki Vallance: Eclectic and chaotic. I use art journals as a way to express things that I can’t put into words. Speaking technically, I use a lot of mixed media in order to create pages that are often messy, splattered, layered, and subdued by quieter colour palettes. I’d also like to claim a decaying or vintage feel, but that may serve as a goal rather than an accomplishment.

CM: What things inspire and influence you and your artwork?
NV: I hate to sound tired and cliché, but life is what inspires me. Music, conversations, nature, books, people, art, emotion – everything has the ability to inspire something in me to create. I find the most potent forms of inspiration come from book quotes and poetry. Sometimes I read a line and a piece just starts to take form in my head.
Despite the fact that I show them publicly, my journals come from a very private place. I don’t usually create art for other people so most of what I produce is solely for myself. This is why my life, specifically, is what inspires nearly everything I do.

CM: Do you listen to music when you create? Describe your perfect creative work environment.
NV: Music is a must when it comes to my creative process. I have a few very specifically tailored playlists that I enjoy listening to while I paint. Most of my musical choices are mellow (think Sigur Rós, Azure Ray, Elliott Smith…).
Beyond music I don’t need much of an atmosphere in order to create. It has much more to do with my own mood and inward impulses. If I need to get something down it doesn’t matter what sort of outside distractions are going on. A clean workspace, comfy place to sit, and my materials at hand are all I need to get the job done.

CM: What mediums do you work in the most? Why do you use them?
NV: Since I began working on my art journals I’ve always been entranced by watercolours. I find them very easy to work with. It’s hard to make a mistake and the layered effects they create can be stunning. I’ve recently been working with acrylic paints as well, but I find them much less forgiving. They do, however, make quite a bold impression when used correctly.
Other mediums that I’ve taken a liking to are: inks, pencils, pens, markers, stamps, stencils, fabrics, pastels, magazines, photographs, and canvas.
I purposefully try to use as many different mediums as possible in order to create texture and more visual appeal. I try to form a certain amount of depth so that the viewer sees something new each time they revisit a page.

Name a few of your favorite artists.
NV: I’m far from up to date on any of the world’s modern well-known artists. Most of my inspiration comes from people on livejournal and other blogs. That said, here are some of my favourites: - Dan Eldon
- A Fanciful Twist
- Dispatch From LA
- Audrey Kawasaki
- Kurt Halsey

CM: If there was one style of art that you could take up what would it be?
NV: That’s a tricky question. I really enjoy working with journals, but after being exposed to the amazing forms of paper-based art that the Rag and Bone

Find Nikki’s work at these places on the web:
Ink_Smear on Livejournal
Walls of Candy on Livejournal

Some artwork from Nikki Vallance: