In times of turmoil, people despair. Positivity begins to look either like a toxic trait or failure to accept reality. We must not lose sight of the inherent good in most people.
The model for this portrait is my friend Joy. She is a Korean woman just starting her journey as an oil painter. She is an avid gardener who loves to share plants and design gardens everywhere she goes.
We met at an artist community last year where both of us were renting studio space. I have since moved into my home basement because I found the difficult personalities of other artists in the building to be disruptive to my creative practice. Joy and I remain friends, however, and plan lunch dates and studio visits to share our work and development as artists.
While at the artist colony, I looked forward to visits from Joy because she has such a curious and uplifting personality. She is inquisitive and encouraging about other artists’ practices and often stops by other studios with gifts of plants or treats for the other artists.
In less than a year, she transformed the public entrance to the building from a run-down, overgrown space to a beautiful, flower lined path. No available growing space was overlooked, including the window next to our utility sink inside the building. She literally leaves flowers in her wake. For this reason, I chose to use her as the personification of the original inspiration for this portrait.
Inspiration
I will not give up
the flowers in my heart
just because the world
is a hard place.
The world
is only a hard place
because it needs more
flower-hearted people.
Nikita Gill
Body of Work Statement
In many cultures, women are celebrated for bringing forth and nurturing life. I believe it is this devotion that elevates our human place in the natural world and ignites our more complex creative pursuits.
It is for this reason that I incorporate portraits of women in my explorations of nature, combining symbolism and legends across species to illustrate narratives born of reverence and joy – for the natural beauty that we all possess, and our interconnectedness to the larger world of which we are a part.
