HI NICOLE, IT'S NICE TALKING TO YOU! CAN YOU FIRST TELL US SOMETHING ABOUT YOURSELF? WHO ARE YOU, WHERE ARE YOU FROM, WHERE DO YOU LIVE NOW? TELL US SOMETHING ABOUT YOUR PERSONAL BACKGROUND
Hello Hello!
My name is Nicole, I was born in Germany and, after a stopover in Denmark from 1997 to 2006, I now live again with my son in beautiful central Hesse.
I am a trained merchant in wholesale and foreign trade, but I started drawing at a very, very early age because my grandfather, who was a painter and sculptor himself, always supported and encouraged me.
WHAT EXACTLY DO YOU DO FOR A JOB? WHEN DID YOU DISCOVER PHOTOGRAPHY?
I actually worked as a permanent employee in the company where I did my training. However, painting has always taken up a large part of my life, and so I registered a small business in 2015 because many people enjoyed my paintings and I was able to sell them. In 2019, I quit my job to fulfill my dream of being self-employed, because I always just wanted to paint and earn my own money with it - like my grandpa!!
My interest in photography came about as a side effect: my particular style – namely drawing something to complete a real object (a piece of candy, a flower, a stone, etc.) that I previously placed on a sheet of paper – is to photograph exactly that from above, so that it looks quite real and you want to touch it.
YOUR INSTAGRAM FEED IS FILLED WITH FUNNY AND CHEERFUL PICTURES, PROBABLY THANKS TO YOUR BIG EYES. YOU EVEN INTRODUCED THE HASHTAG #SHOWMEYOURGOOGLYEYES. WHAT MOTIVATED YOU TO DO THAT?
Exactly! That's a good starting point and Instagram really plays a big role here, because I post the above pictures there. But I didn't just want to post pretty pictures all the time, I wanted to involve my followers a bit and stimulate their own creativity. So in 2017 I came up with the idea for the ongoing challenge #showmeyourgooglyeyes . Anyone can take part - just stick googly eyes somewhere and you'll put a smile on someone else's face and on your own, right?
YOU SEEMED TO NOT ONLY ENJOY TAKING PHOTOS, BUT ALSO DESIGN A LOT OF YOUR MOTIFS YOURSELF! HOW DO YOU FIND YOUR IDEAS AND HOW HAS YOUR STYLE DEVELOPED
That's a really good question! Unfortunately, I can't give a clear answer to that. My brain drawers are always open! My ideas for the pictures really come out of the blue. I just follow my intuition and immediately and spontaneously see what I could paint with the object (flower, Smarties...) - I see or hear something and an association comes to mind. I enjoy it more in the summer and I feel much more creative because it's so bright.
My style could be described as mini-minimalist. Not much has changed over the years, except that I buy a new cell phone every now and then (I take my photos with my iPhone or iPad and edit them in Lightroom or Procreate) and the photos get better in quality each time because I now place more value on a well-lit image with clearer colors than I did in the beginning, when it was just fun. Now I earn my money from it.
YOU ALSO LIKE MAKING SMALL GIF ANIMATIONS – WHAT DO YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT THEM?
Hehe, yes - my new, old great love since autumn 2020! You don't know that, do you? When I was 12 years old, I sent a folder with my self-painted pictures to Walt Disney in America. Unfortunately, it never arrived there, only a "return to sender".
I always wanted to work in animation, and when I was living in Denmark I went to a school for illustration and animation. I learned the whole process there, the way it used to be done - I call it the flipbook style: you draw each individual drawing on a film and color in the back. One second consists of 24 individual images!
I can now do this myself without working for Disney using Procreate on my iPad - and I just enjoy bringing my painted pictures to life with just one or two small changes!
And the cool thing is that I have an official Giphy account , which means that all of my GIFs can be used on social media all over the world. Luckily, users like them, even though they're basically different to my Instagram pictures. I would say that my art is very varied and not stuck on one theme. There's something for everyone.
WHAT INSPIRES YOU AND WHY?
My inspiration comes from everywhere: books, holidays by the sea, interesting people, music. I notice a lot in nature and in the world in which I live.
(Normally) we love to travel, go to the cinema at least once or twice a month and also like to go to museums. Art has always played a big role. But it's the simple things that inspire me and also the simple pictures that I create. Everything doesn't always have to be complex and complicated. I can do that, but I don't think my followers on Instagram want to see that.
My son inspires me with his childlike creativity – just doing things without being judged.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS? HOW LONG DO YOU SPEND ON A PAINTING?
When I get a sudden idea when I see a flower I've just picked, I immediately put it on a white sheet of paper and either paint it or at least take a photo of it. Then it's really quick - there's no need to sketch it out in pencil.
Actually, you could even say that taking photos and then editing them takes longer... But on average, it takes me a good hour or a little longer - you wouldn't think that at all - but that's the way it is.
WHEN AND WHY DID YOU START SHARING YOUR PICTURES ON INSTAGRAM?
I actually shared my first picture on Instagram at the end of 2012. It was a picture of my son after a hospital operation. I really thought that Insta was something like a photo album and I shared my photos with the people I knew. I didn't realize that the whole world could see it! So I started off happily sharing photos from vacation, from our dinner and pictures of the kids. Unfortunately, after a while I realized that there were also creepy types on this platform and I didn't want to share any more pictures of my son.
A little scribble I drew while on the phone was the first picture I posted of myself and it was even more popular than anything else I had posted before! So I switched things up and started taking photos of my little works of art and showing them on Insta.
When I first posted a picture in exactly that style, a simple vase painted with a black fineliner and a real primrose placed in it, that was the starting signal. Unfortunately, for reasons I cannot explain today, I no longer have the picture in my feed, but I think I deleted it because I later no longer liked the quality or the darkness of the photo. Nowadays you can simply archive pictures - I didn't know that back then... that was in 2015.
DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE PHOTO THAT YOU HAVE SHARED? CAN YOU TELL US THE STORY BEHIND IT?
My favorite pictures definitely include the small light purple violets that I painted and posted in March 2016 - if I remember correctly, this is where I got my first commission or my first collaboration! It was with @moka_magazin , a book magazine based in Hamburg. I was allowed to design a cover in my style - I was sooo happy and super proud!
A year later, my account was featured in Bravo as one of the 10 most unusual Insta accounts. That doesn't happen every day, does it?
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT YOUR IG COMMUNITY? DO YOU INTERACT WITH THEM A LOT AND GET NEW IDEAS THAT WAY?
I have a lot to thank my IG community, my followers, for and I really like them. A lot of people from when I first started are still there and somehow you get the feeling that you've known each other for a long time in real life - it's crazy! You've actually gotten to know some of them and you like each other in real life, you meet up, talk on the phone, keep in touch and make plans to meet up soon. That's nice! I really like it: this exchange - not just with other artists. I know that a lot of my followers are mothers, like me. You can also honestly vent your frustration under the pictures or ask for new recipes.
Of course, the artist's brain is always working, but I have to admit that I don't like following others with a similar style to mine, because I don't want to read under my picture "I've seen that (similar) at XY, you idea thief!" Although I don't think that anyone has reinvented the wheel...
WOULD YOU LIKE TO TELL US SOME OF YOUR FAVORITE INSTAGRAMMERS WHO INSPIRE YOU?
In fact, I tend to find inspiration more in accounts where I can still learn something or who do something completely different to me - so chefs like Jamie Oliver or the actress Elena Uhlig with her toilet.
If I were to name other artists, I would like the "maker" Lisa Bardot with her tutorials, Charly Clements , and Jesuso - you know exactly which one - I find really likeable! But from the beginning I always really liked Rachel Ryle with her stop motion animations, so so so great!!
DO YOU STILL ENJOY SENDING POSTCARDS?
I have to honestly admit that I don’t send postcards that often anymore – only at Christmas, for birthdays or from vacation.
But when I send my pictures to customers, I always include a handwritten postcard from me - I really value that. A bit of nostalgia and retro is always a good thing.
DID YOU KNOW PICKMOTION BEFORE OUR COOPERATION? IF YES, HOW DID YOU FIND OUT ABOUT US?
Of course, I already knew you from Instagram before our cooperation and always admired your card stands and the great cards in the local bookstore.
Of course I was really surprised and was as happy as a little child when I received the first email from you.
And still, when I suddenly get an email from you in my inbox saying that you like this or that picture so much and asking me if you can make a new card out of it – my heart does a somersault!
FINALLY, WOULD YOU LIKE TO SHARE A LITTLE STORY OR ANECDOTE WITH US? FEEL FREE TO TELL US WHATEVER COMES TO YOUR MIND!
Yes, I can think of something nice that has to do with me and your cards: I get messages from all over the world from my followers who send me photos with one of my cards in their hands – that's really cool and makes me really happy.
And in 2018, when I received your first credit, I spontaneously used the money to fulfill my son's long-held dream and booked a week in London - thank you <3
