ABOUT NIMHUE'S ART

I first embarked on my artwork journey when I was very young, making artful cards for friends and family for various occasions and illustrating fantasy worlds inspired by my child imagination. When I was 9, I won an award for "Best Use of Color" in a youth art show. At 13, I had the opportunity to paint new murals in my school's girls locker room to update the one that was there, which, at the time featured all white and blonde girls of the same body type playing various sports- my cover-up mural illustrated a much more diverse group of girls with a rainbow of skin tones, body types, hair lengths, and physical abilities. I was proud to create more realistic imagery of girls in fitness that would make everyone feel welcome in the locker room. When I was 19, my art career took off, and I had several art opportunities. One of which was painting a muralized recycling container for EcoMaine, a recycling and sustainable waste management company. My mural was two sided. On one side it featured woodland animals like a chickadee, a porcupine, and a moose cleaning up trash. On the other side it featured beach animals such as a seagull cleaning up the beach. Later that year, I began teaching basic painting classes at a local K.O.A., and then also at a cafe. I began doing face painting as well, starting at our town's annual Cleanup Day, where my partner and I hosted a booth that was part educational, part face painting. Also in 2019 I began a tattoo apprenticeship, and during that experience I honed in on my lineart skills as well as learned how to create artwork suitable for the body. The skills I built from these projects and the confidence I gained allowed me to begin taking commissions, selling pet portraits, tattoo designs, character illustrations, and more. 

I greatly admire many artists, and their work has helped shape my own. As a self taught artist, having references to study has been paramount to my practice. I have to thank the following artists for inspiring me so greatly: John Jude Palencar, Kim Jacobs, Amy Brown, Goldenwolf, Stephanie Pui Mun Law, Brian Froud, Edmund Dulac, Arthur Rackham, the duo "Akira Himekawa," Hayao Miyazaki, and Jan Brett. 

In more recent years, my art has really began to take shape and a specific style is emerging. My studies in nature and time spent in the garden have helped me create works of art that feature companionable flora and fauna. I love to use elements of the Earth as metaphors, perhaps a cardinal feather in a memorial piece, or a symphony of harmonious medicinal herbs as the border for an Autumnal artwork. I want my artwork to tell a deeper story, to be able to be read in layers. It might be the border which gives more context to the story. Sometimes it is rich symbolism, others subtle messages like the language of flowers. Mother Earth is my muse, and much of my work is illustrated using my own photos from my excursions as reference. The purpose of my artwork is to capture what is increasingly becoming myth- to share with people visions of the beautiful Earth, to showcase the ephemeral, mystical, and alive. I want to show people the beauty of rocks, of feathers, of fish and fur, of leaves and decay and growth.

This year I have a goal from which I hope to take my art to its most natural roots- to begin transitioning away from commercial paints and use homemade earth paints, made from leaves, nuts, berries, flowers, and minerals. Aside from that, I've begun working on my first illustrated children's book, which I hope to share with the world sometime in 2027.