INTERMISSION

“Intermission”

This piece is a beautiful representation of what goes on in the mind of Nick when he begins to feel overwhelmed. 

Nick has always felt that July of 2018 was going to be a life-changing year for him. Leading up to that year he had many dreams about this particular time in his life, though he was never quite sure what was going to happen. When the time finally arrived he found himself immersed in one of the most challenging summer tours he has had since the start of his career. 2018 had been a big year, and it turned out to be the most expansive and most expensive tour Nick had participated in to date. He had 36 shows booked that year, and of those 36, 32 of them put up some of the worst weather he has ever dealt with, causing him to work much harder than he had initially planned for. He felt he had put himself in a position where he couldn’t succeed and found himself living off of credit, as he wasn’t really moving forward financially.

When the time came for him to travel north for his Midwest tour he was already feeling like he needed a change, but the big push came when he realized how much different his income from these shows was this year in comparison to previous years. People have been known to travel from great distances to participate in the many art tours that take place in the Midwest, and this portion of Nick’s tour has always been a huge success, but something was different this year. This unforeseen plot twist led to Nick reevaluating some of his merchandise, which ended up paying off well the following year, but felt like a personal hit at the time.

Nick found himself stressed and frustrated, and he knew it was time to take a step back and remind himself what all of this was for. Asking himself why he was pushing himself to his limits brought Nick to his happy place, and he decided to paint that. He remembered that eventually when this is all said and done he wants to find himself somewhere beautiful, on a lake in the middle of nowhere so that he can be alone with his thoughts and free to create his art simply for pleasure. But, he also wants to be able to offer those that he loves a place to escape, and that’s what we see in this piece.

The Iron Giant is a large focal point for this piece, and it is a representation of Nick’s vehicle, using the light saber to direct his friends and family, the Star Wars characters, to his little slice of paradise. The Darth Vader character specifically is a message to let bygones be bygones. It tells us that it doesn’t matter who you are or what has happened, you’re welcome to come make memories and enjoy life with us, and free to go back to being whatever kind of person you choose to be when all is said and done.

This painting is a visual representation of what it looked for Nick to take an intermission in his life so that he could rest, rethink, and remember the reason he’s been subjecting himself to some of most taxing circumstances he’s ever faced. I must say, for a piece that he has lovingly nicknamed “My Mental Breakdown” it holds a heartwarming story of staying motivated for the right reasons.