Design Spotlight: Nika Lerman

Our Design Spotlight falls on Nika Lerman today – this talented artist is new to GCU, she joined in December 2013, and we’re sure you’ll agree her designs are delightful!

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My paintings are my life, my thoughts, my moods… Every time I paint, I feel joy inside me, I feel I’m flying. Each and every flower and character on my paintings is a particle of my soul and my mood. This is the best relaxation for me – after a hard working day just to sit down and draw something. It elevates my mood, my soul and body rest. The ideas come spontaneously. I do not draw very often what I see in the world surrounding me. Most of my pictures are born in my head.

Sometimes I just wake up and already see the painting, how it should be. Usually I carry it during the day, and then I sit and get the visual out of my head into the real world. Sometimes I get to my painting tablet without any real idea, but in an hour or two the painting just creates itself.

This is exactly how these chickadees were born. I love birds very much, I feed them every day on my windowsill. My usual guests are jays, sparrows and bulbuls. I’d really like that chickadees also will visit my window, I like them specially. So, since they are not coming to my windows, I decided they will be in my paintings.

This is the thought I had in mind when I drew this painting. Somehow, chickadees associate in my mind with snow and small villages. So I let it out also in my illustration. Here in Israel we do not have much snow, so I made snow. That’s why I like to create — creation doesn’t have real boundaries, there’s no limitations to it. Even if I can’t get it or see it with my physical eyes, I just switch my fantasy on, and here they are — chickadees, snow and little cosy village huts. Though I drew my chickadees in early autumn, but even then I already was in a winter-y and Christmas-y mood.

I’d like to congratulate all of you with a Happy New Year. I wish you all great success, joy, blessings and prosperity. May all your dreams will come true!