Flaunt-a-Friend Friday!

The one and only time Niya and I shared actual space was about 10 years ago in our mutual friend Alexis Kuta's converted-garage office. Although we never were in the same place again, we stayed in contact.

It was one of those meetings I'm sure you've all had. You absolutely know that you have met someone from your energetic tribe. From the first moment I met her, I was blown away by her creative energy. Then I saw her work...omg, she rocks beyond description: Fine Art, Graphic Design and personal observations on life.

Over the years, we've stayed connected through my move to Austin and her path that took her from LA, to Portland and finally to Boulder. I could go on and on about Niya, but I'm going to let her share it in her own words:

I’m interested in beauty. I love how the Italians will tolerate imperfection in most aspects of their culture except the art of the beautiful; the furniture, churches, architecture, food and wine, glass, paintings, sculpture and the men and women. They take great pride in the beauty of the country and language and want to document it as much as possible—as though it’s the last trustworthy frontier. I feel this way when I paint. It’s a place of peace; a trustworthy mirror that reaches past media, cultural impositions and my own interpretations.

I paint in themes; narrative. I don’t use brushes. I use my hands. I find that I get to the core of the subject much more easily and I enjoy the intimacy with the work that is helped by not using brushes—how easily form, line, color, and the sensuality of the paint finds its little pools of stillness and perfection. I react to color as though it is a form being sculpted. I’ve come to appreciate texture as the webbing, the undertow of feeling in the painting. The content exists through my response to the formal elements and their relationship to one another. The act of color is content enough for me.