'Black-Eyed Susan' - Dedicated to increasingly muggy Summers.
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For business inquiries: wheat.illo@gmail.com
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About the Artist:
Hello, my name is Nicole Wheat
I was born in the quiet city of New York. Quiet, because I was born with severe hearing loss. Most of my younger years were spent struggling with communication and expressing myself to others and I often felt very disconnected from my peers. I relied heavily on my imagination to piece together conversations, things I might eavesdropped, whispers I could only guess what might’ve been said. My imagination of these scenarios and landscapes soon evolved into drawing picture books in elementary school, then I graduated to written short stories, then getting my first camera for my 18th birthday, and finally, taking the leap to painting.
I eventually found my way to a memorable college, The University of the Arts in Philadelphia. It was here, where I was finally given the invaluable skills to express myself in a way that I could communicate nonverbally, with just my illustrations.
But it was just a few years later, I found out I was starting to lose my vision. I was diagnosed with Usher Syndrome at the age of 28.
Usher Syndrome is a rare and incurable genetic disorder. It includes hearing loss, balance issues, and the onset of retinitis pigmentosa, a degenerative eye disease that also has no known cure.
I questioned myself for a long time, if creating art was supposed to be my path in life, considering the life altering changes that are ahead of me. And I came to the conclusion that yes, this is part of the plan. Sharing my experience, emotions, pain and joy, all figuratively tucked away within each drawing I create, is something I feel I was given a purpose for.
Its a privilege to have the ability to visually express human emotion, by taking my fears, memories, anxiety and delusions, and lay them before you, with the hopes of encouraging your own individual association.
To follow my work more personally, feel free to add me on Instagram @meekonos.
Nicole Wheat is currently based in Los Angeles. She has a BFA in Illustration from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia & an AAS in Graphic Design from Suffolk County College, New York.
