Today we’d like to introduce you to Kiera Nadeau
Hi Kiera, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Growing up I was always the art kid. I was so eager to try out different mediums and was fortunate enough to have parents who were happy to provide me with anything I wanted to learn, ranging from colored pencils to oil paint and so many others. I took a lot of drawing courses later in school but my art was always a side hobby, sort of shadowed by my focus on school and dance. It wasn’t until just before COVID that my creative practice became the forefront of my life as I was dealing with a lot of health issues that made school really difficult. After this, painting became my outlet and I realized that I couldn’t see myself wanting to do anything else. I decided to abandon pursuing any kind of STEM degree I had always seen myself with and jumped all in to a creative career to attend SCAD to study painting. I’m a Senior now at SCAD and it has been the best decision of my life.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
There have definitely been a lot of obstacles in getting to where I am now. It was really hard to give up the idea that I wasn’t going to end up being a scientist or in a more traditional job. I studied really hard in high school and put a lot of pressure on myself to be at the top of my class but with my health declining this became completely unsustainable. I was struggling with severe fatigue and brain fog to the point that even maintaining conversation was a struggle. I kind of had to give up on what I thought was my dream and pivot my career to accommodate my condition. Painting was a huge comfort during this time as it was something I could still do well and I really fell in love with it. I have never been happier than I am now studying painting and making my way in the art world. Even since being in remission, I don’t have any regrets about changing my dreams to become an artist. I feel like it’s what I was meant to do even though it took going through terrible times to realize it. Don’t get me wrong being an artist has its obstacles, but I would never choose anything else.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I primarily work as a painter and my current collection explores nostalgia and the romanticism of childhood memories. In trying to find my style I realized that I just wanted to make happy things! I do this by creating images of fond and naive memories or even just painting cute little frogs or flowers. The world is a scary place and I just want to make something bright and hopeful in spite of it all. My style is pretty recognizable throughout my work being that it’s full of super bold, flat colors overlapped with traditional realistic elements in the subject to balance out my two preferred techniques. I consider myself a bit of a paint nerd and I love trying every kind of paint out there. In so many of my paintings, there is more than a handful of different types of paints intermixed and I think that plays a big role in keeping my process fun. I’m proud of the knowledge I’ve built surrounding my craft and I’m always eager to experiment more! In addition to my painting, I illustrate pattern designs and have been having such a great time watching these two creative channels intermingle. Just like in my paintings, I like to keep my pattern work very playful and bright. Although these are my primary practices, I explore all sorts of traditional and digital mediums that give me a leg up in a lot of my work.
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
I love to read and I’ve been obsessed with buying books on my favorite artists to keep in my studio for inspiration. SCAD also has a great collection at their library so I like to check some of their stuff out before starting any big works. Although I’m not much of a podcast person I’ve really been enjoying the podcast Talk Art. It’s a really intimate way to discover contemporary artists and hear what their work means to them in their own words.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.kieranadeau.com/
- Instagram: @kiera_n_art
- Other: @patterns.by.kiera
