Issue 6 Creator Spotlight | Nick Paradis
C+B: Tell us about yourself, Nick!
NP: Full time I run Production/Manage a Screen Printing Shop in downtown Concord, New Hampshire called Eastman Fine Screen Printing. I have worked in printing and bindery for over a decade on small to large scale machinery as well as custom hand-pressed/bound projects/operations. I enjoy diverse forms and methods of printing. In my spare time I paint with oils and mixed media, I enjoy creating murals and custom commission paintings for customers. I print in my studio as well with different styles and mediums. I submit work to open call exhibitions and attend community based receptions and events. I write poetry and prose freely on the side and attend open mics and submit my work for publication when the opportunity arises. I enjoy hiking, biking, and going to the ocean. I have a pet chameleon, her name is Socks.
C+B: How has your relationship with your work changed since you first started creating?
NP: As I've matured and experienced life so has my work. I think a huge part is the experiences and memories formed and shared amongst others throughout time. Adaptation. Innovation. Belief. The ups and downs.
I went to College, I studied art—but does that necessarily mean I went to school for art? There are so many other viable variables that contribute to my ideology of creating. Art is merely the vessel my life sails on. I wouldn't have art if not for the other basic life tendrils awaiting to grab my vessel and shake it up. As time has passed and you've collected multiple rooms of art supplies and knowledge, conversations, culture, museum visits, lectures and raw emotions- That creates a lot of change subconsciously whether seen or not. The mirror is yourself. Art is the eyes.
C+B: What has your experience been like receiving feedback or criticism of your work?
NP: I enjoy feedback and criticism. I actually get very excited when I am inching closer to seeing something I wasn't able to see- or because it was of a different subjective perspective. Or if someone recommends using phthalo blue vs ultra marine blue and you can see the result without actually mixing the paint or applying it- that's the magic of feedback. It helps build your work and process, but the criticism needs to be constructive with the same end goal in mind. I don't like words like good and bad, they have destroyed most of our greater perspectives towards creativity.
C+B: Which creator (present day or in the past) do you most admire and why? What draws you to their work?
NP: I love and despise this question. I don't think its fair for me to have a favorite or hold a place for admiration. I choose to be as diverse as possible. But if I must, I really enjoy album cover art, because of its diversity.
Find and support Nick here:
IG: @paradisart
(Shadows and Dust, mixed media, ©Nick Paradis)
My ideal creative retreat would be: South Pacific. I don't know if I have an 'ideal' creative retreat. I just need the tools to create. I usually forget about the walls surrounding me when I'm creating so the South Pacific on a beach sounds pleasant, and I like the color green the most, so I'd like to be surrounded by that.
One word that describes my most recent work is: Shine
A quote that inspires me is: “Talent is the ability to let ideas
manifest themselves through you”- Rick Rubin, from his recent book 'A Creative Act: A Way of Being.'
I chose this because I've been looking at art more as a lifeform and vessel rather than a pencil smudge or clay on the wheel. I believe creativity and psychology go hand in hand, and at times it may be hard to see yourself as an artist or creative- and when you bring that down to the metaphysical level its not an understanding, its more of a way of life.
My hope for those viewing my work: Diversity in multiple mediums. Well versed.
I never wanted to do just one thing, like paint lighthouses or just portraits. I didn't want to only read Kerouac or Hemmingway. So I read other things. I like 90's Seattle Grunge...and Jazz, funk, R&B, and Metal. I like theatre and ballet, and also fast paced adrenaline activities.
My point is,
I want the audience to see the boiling pot of all the diversity. All that's out there.
Oil or watercolor? Why not both?
So I believe I vicariously am doing what I see in front of me on that larger scale, and I hope others can see the girth of it as well. I wanted to create art that would touch millions- not just one type of person, like a bird watching enthusiast that bought my paintings of doves and canaries. Or the sacred geometry nerd that loves my cubism. I wanted to be able to offer something to everyone, so I try to cater to being as versatile as I can.
