Group Show: “Portraits”
Late last year, I was itching to expand my palette and decided to try my hand at some acrylic-on-canvas work.
Being a digital pop artist, this presented an exciting new challenge for me.
My initial efforts produced a quartet of mini-paintings, which I dubbed my “Bad Li’l Betties” series. (I blogged about them here if you want to learn more about the Li’l Betties).
The “Bad Li’l Betties” series, acrylic on canvas, 5in x 5in ea. ©2010 Nikolas Allen
Recently, I heard there was a group art show coming up at a local gallery with the theme, “Portraits.” I decided to up the ante, go large and paint an acrylic piece to submit to the exhibit.
An impending submission deadline is a great motivator and this was no exception. I finished constructing the piece on the morning of submissions and dropped it off with only a couple hours to spare.
Contemporary Pop Artist, Nikolas Allen, stoked to be part of the show.
As you may have guessed by my expression – my piece made it into the show. The placement was a little wonky – way above the eyeline, over a door – but the piece is bold enough that it still stands out.
As for subject matter, I was still exploring the challenge of depicting the beauty and complexity of female faces, expressions and emotions, as I was doing with the “Betties” series.
“Kat In The Hat”, acrylic on canvas, 30in x 30in ©2010 Nikolas Allen
As for the construction of the piece, this was the first time I was attempting to paint on flat canvas, build a custom frame, and wrap the finished canvas myself.
Since I had never done that before, I enlisted the help of fellow artist and partner-in-crime, Brenda Woods, to show me the ropes.
Artists, Nikolas Allen and Brenda Woods, celebrate their collaborative efforts.
Not only has Brenda been building frames and wrapping canvas for years, but she also has a tool collection that would make Ty Pennington blush.
We built the frame with 1×2’s, but I wanted something other than just the wrapped edge of the canvas showing on the sides. After all, as creator of the DigiPopFuzzBox, I’ve set the bar high for myself regarding innovative framing techniques.
Holey plastic molding adds interest to the framed edges.
I was low on both time and budget, so I had to get creative. While browsing the hardware store, I saw a rack of L-shaped plastic strips full of tiny holes.
I thought all the little circles running along the outer edges would look cool. Plus, they reminded me of the benday dots that Roy Lichtenstein used to great effect.
I’ve been focusing soley on group shows for the last eight months. I spent a lot of time and money on my solo exhibit, “Bomb Pop”, in Ashland, Oregon last June and, while I love to execute my own Grand Vision, it’s not always feasible to do so.
“Portraits” on display at the SAC Gallery.
I realized that group shows would still keep my work in the public eye, allow me to meet and interact with other artists and their fans, share in the promotional efforts and decrease the overall cost of producing a show.
Plus, so far, each group show that I’ve partaken in has lead to further creative opportunities down the road. So it has been a great way to continue expanding my sassy brand of Contempo-Pop Goodness.
Plus, it forces me to continue to augment my body of work so when it does come time to stage the next Nikolas Allen Pop Extravaganza, I’ll have plenty of fresh neon eye candy for the peeps to chew on. Yum-yum!
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“Portraits” runs through April 11, 2010 at the Siskiyou Arts Council Gallery & Cultural Center in Mt. Shasta, California.
Welcome to Nikolas Allen Art dot com. I am a Contemporary Pop Artist with a background in music, advertising and video production. 
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