Niq X On View Gallery

I've known Niq for awhile now, bumping into him here and there at local art happenings. However, I don't think I would know him that well unless it was for a mutual acquaintance who frequently flags him down at these events. It took hanging out with Niq several times for me to truly appreciate him, and by that I mean his sense of humor.

Niq's not terribly emotive, which makes him a hard read, but this fact is also a cornerstone to his humor. You'll find Niq more often observing than standing in the spotlight, frequently with arms crossed, corners of his mouth in a straight line, slipping out under-the-breath one-liners, served with a hot side of sarcasm.

The sarcasm is understood as a way to get through life...and the art world, but don't misunderstand, don't think he's not serious. Niq's very serious. Art is not a hobby for him. It's not a play thing. It's something he does in and out, back and forth daily, prolifically. And his studio is not meant to be a hangout or a place he opens to the world to be gawked at.

Much like the functional role of sarcasm, doors and walls, hide and hold things very personal and sacred to him.

We were lucky enough to stop by Niq's studio to ask him a few questions, which we knew, he may or may not answer. And we found out that along with seriousness and sarcasm, Niq has a lot to say. 

***

Q.) Describe your practice/process with 5 words.

A.) You would ask me that kind of question. That’s a tough thing to do without sounding incredibly pretentious. But I suppose you’re fittingly asking me for a concise elaboration.

How about... “I can’t not do it.”

Q.) How about...that won't print well. Different angle?

A.) I suppose, if I was going to be more traditional and literal maybe I’d say something like: Release, Dissident, Indifference, Immortality, Habit.

Q.) How did you initially get into art? Why do you keep doing it?

A.) It’s funny, I think, that people always saw me as “artistic”, at least in my family, but it wasn’t really until I started painting that I actually ever produced anything for anyone else’s eyes.

Growing up, the only art I cared about was in comic books. I flipped through them endlessly. Because of that, I’ve always been a doodler and have always considered myself creatively minded. I’ve been painting for about seven years and now I can’t imagine stopping.

Q.) What was the appeal of comic books?

A.) I think I was drawing comic book type of stuff before I started collecting them. I was into super heroes and the like when I was very young so that’s probably where it started. Of course, all these characters and the idea of comic books is mainstream now but it wasn’t always that way. My introduction to the art form came in the 90’s at a time when the industry was much more focused on the art and less about the stories, which at the time didn’t matter to me because I was there for the art. I would follow the artists I liked, not the characters.

Q.) Who are some of those artists?

A.) My all time favorite is Chris Bachalo. He does these stylized characters with these super busy and intricate backgrounds. I was also into guys Joe Madureira, Frank Miller, Geof Darrow, Sam Keith, Jim Mahfood, and the big names of the 90s like Jim Lee and Todd McFarlane.

Q.) So how did the progression from comic books into painting happen?

A.) I took a painting class in college and prior to that I don’t think I’d ever tried to seriously make anything with paint. I’d taken art classes in high school and I’m sure there had been painting in those classes but I definitely didn’t go into this college class feeling like I knew what I was doing. I remember being confused, like “Wait, you aren’t going to teach me how to paint?” I quickly became frustrated with the art teacher and realized I wasn’t going to learn anything from their class. I didn’t try painting anything again for probably ten years. One summer I went on a cross country road trip. I had a work-from-home job writing web content so instead of working from home, I worked in coffee shops along the way. I sat in my fair share of Starbucks but sometimes I’d come across little local joints with local art on the walls. Sometimes the art was good, often it was not. That made me wonder if I could do that? I saw these pieces for sale and thought, “are these people actually selling these?”. And if they are, does that mean I could?

When I got back from that trip, I got a new apartment. One that was too big and barely furnished with an extra bedroom. One day I went to Michael’s and bought what I assumed were essential tools and started at it.

Q.) How did it go? What were those earliest attempts like?

A.) Predictably shit. I honestly didn’t even know how to start. It took a lot of messing around and muddy colored canvases before I made any progress. Then, there was this piece that gave me the feeling that I’d figured something out. It was when I stopped relying on a brush. I scraped with a palette knife. When I saw that effect, I realized that my thinking about the whole process had been restricted. That’s when this all kind of really started for me. That painting. It’s red and black and kind of basic but I still have it and I love it.

Q.) You work with headphones on, is there anything musically that's galvanizing your work right now?

A.) What I listen to doesn’t inform the work. I listen to a range of music as well as podcasts, audio books, or something playing on the tv in the background. But it can’t be quiet. I don’t think any specific media I consume influences particular pieces but it serves the purpose of occupying my mind enough that I’m not thinking about painting, just doing it.

Q.) What's the biggest challenge you face with creating your artwork?

A.) Not having enough time to keep pushing the work. There are a lot of ideas or avenues I’d like to explore and the challenge is just balancing life with the drive to create.

Q.) Do you have life motto?

A.) I’m not the kind of person that has a motto.