Story & Lesson Highlights with Tessa Nicole of Phoenix

Tessa Nicole shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.

Tessa, a huge thanks to you for investing the time to share your wisdom with those who are seeking it. We think it’s so important for us to share stories with our neighbors, friends and community because knowledge multiples when we share with each other. Let’s jump in: What makes you lose track of time—and find yourself again?
When I work small-scale & rapidly move to the next piece as soon as I’m finished, I find myself subconsciously creating a visual narrative. With a large-scale painting that I’m spending weeks on, I have little room for expanding upon an idea; whereas if I’m creating many different scenes in a shorter timeline, it gives my imagination a bit of wiggle room & scratches that creative itch. I have learned so much about my own mind through being in a constant flow state & being given the freedom to play a bit more.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Tessa, lovely to meet you! I first began painting in 2015 at the age of 18 & have been fortunate enough to be a full time oil painter for the past 7 years. My work has evolved in so many ways over the years, but what has remained constant is my love for vibrant color, nature, & working solely with a palette knife. In July of 2020, after quite a lot of trial & error/plenty of experimentation, I developed my technique – “Textured Pointillism”. Each painting is created with my one special knife & features perfect little textured dots that truly bring the piece to life. I am heavy on the whimsy, but love to draw inspiration from my desert home, along with the incredible places I’ve had the privilege of traveling to.
My ultimate goal in creating my work is to bring joy to others. I have had some of the purest, most memorable connections through the sharing of art. This is my life, my therapy, my meditation, & I will always remain open to the next stage of my evolution.

Okay, so here’s a deep one: What did you believe about yourself as a child that you no longer believe?
Growing up, productivity equalled morality. I was given certain “boxes” that I was allowed to fit into, but being a closeted queer/gender-nonconforming kid was not an acceptable one. What I took from this was that my value could only come from what I offered to the world, because my upbringing told me I was innately “broken”. This instilled a very strong work ethic in me, but hindered my growth in self expression.
Since coming out & accepting myself for who I’ve always been, productivity no longer has the aggressive chokehold on me that it used to. My value comes from within, & now that I have the freedom to express myself authentically, the pride & joy just pours out of me naturally & onto the canvas.

What have been the defining wounds of your life—and how have you healed them?
As much as I love my parents & am so grateful for their encouragement when it came to creativity, I grew up with very harmful rhetoric surrounding who I was allowed to be. Knowing I was queer from as early as I can remember & being raised with the belief that God did not love people like me, I did not believe I was worthy of love. This affected how I walked through life in every possible way, including leading me down the path of ending up in an abusive relationship that lasted 4 years. It wasn’t until hitting a breaking point in my marriage & having to flee from my own home that I had the space to evaluate all of my beliefs.
Thankfully, art has always been my one constant, & for most of my life was my only outlet for expression. Without it, I would not be here. But beyond that, through finally coming out as queer, deconstructing my belief system, & working through trauma therapy, I have been able to heal beyond what I ever thought possible.

Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. What important truth do very few people agree with you on?
That EVERYONE is an artist. I truly believe that every individual has the ability to create & bring something new into this world… they just haven’t given themselves the freedom to try every medium & experiment.
All kids are little artists, that doesn’t just go away; we create our own barriers as we get older. Please go play & create! You’ll thank me.

Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
“Tessa never stopped changing. They were always growing, evolving, trying new things. They lived many lives within this one life, & it shows in their art.” 🙂

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.tessanicoleart.com
• Instagram: @tessanicoleart