Featured Artist: NDTank

DBH: Where are you from?

Nicholas: Daniels, WV

DBH: How would you best describe your art style?

Nicholas: I’m not sure how to describe my style as I feel its constantly evolving. I’m still very much in the process of learning what kind of artist I want to be. I usually just say wilderness inspired as themes of nature provide the common thread more so than a particular technique.

DBH: Where do you find your inspiration when creating your art?

Nicholas: I make my home in the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia within a few minutes of a national and state parks and I spend an enormous amount of time in the woods near my home. Obviously this finds its way into nearly every aspect of my art.

DBH: When did you know you wanted to make a career in the art world?

Nicholas: I think an appreciation of art was instilled in me from a very young age, and although it was always in the back of my mind, I’m not sure I ever considered it as a career opportunity until about 6 years ago. I was just finishing up college (for engineering) and was trying to decide what to do next and happened across some of Jon Klassen’s concept art for Coraline. I think that was the turning point for me.

DBH: What does a day of creating artwork look like for you and how to you start your creative process?

Nicholas: Sporadic. I find that moment of inspiration come and go on a whim. When an idea hits me, I try to run it through to completion as quickly as possible. Otherwise I risk adding it to the pile of half completed pieces and notebooks of ideas collecting dust.

I’ve also found that an enormous amount of my time as an artist is spent doing very uncreative things.

DBH: What artist (either current or past) do you most admire and why?

Nicholas: Naming one artist here would be impossible. I’m always discovering new artists and rediscovering old ones. D

BH: What's the best advice that's been given to you as an artist?

Nicholas: Before I was even in preschool, my mom would tell me that when coloring I could make anything any color that I wanted it to be. I think that bit of advice has been instrumental in shaping both my art and me as a person

(It should be noted that I was absolutely terrible at coloring as a child)

Shop all of NDTank's designs here!