greetings from someone both lost and found
unless you're my painting which never got to devon. read the whole thing if you have a moment. skim through the part with the list if you don't.
I somehow have projects spanning out to 2024. Isn’t it insane? One of my fears of setting out on this freelance artist journey was that I’ll not have much to do, and boy was I wrong. I haven’t for a moment thought ‘so, what do I do now?’ and things have been working out great. Although, it’s not to say it’s been easy.
In my last Substack post/newsletter, whatever you want to call it, I announced my first solo exhibition ‘Lost in the Ether’. That ended around two months ago and I’m happy to say that the whole thing exceeded my expectations. It opened a lot of new doors for me and my network has grown significantly. I (both) landed and am working on landing new opportunities that will take me through the next two years, which is funny considering I usually take things six months at a time.
So, TLDR; the kid is doing fine.
What am I up to?
I am in the process of creating a new body of work (yes, a new collection), and I am trusting the process with this one because it’s still in its conceptual infancy to date. I am going back to the basics and to my roots, and I have spent the past two months after the end of Lost in the Ether travelling around and visiting art in different cities, reading more, seeing more, hearing more, and experiencing more. My senses are on high alert, like a sponge taking it all in - but will be wrung out later. I have already imagined it out, I just need to tease it out of me.
I’m thinking a lot about stories like Samson and Delilah, and David and Goliath. Narratives are so important to me, and through these narratives, I am exploring and finding my voice as an artist. I’m revisiting romantic imagery of the Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood and nose-deep in books about that art movement.
Klimt, Whistler, & Farrugia at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam 
Whistler at the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
I have created some graphite/conté pieces. I was experimenting with the process of abstraction and layering with a medium I am not accustomed to but which I am finding a lot of pleasure in. There are three of them and they’re available to make yours on my store. I also shared an oil painting study of feet, which you can view in my store too here.
While thinking about this new body of work that I brush up on in point (1) above, I created a new painting which I haven’t shared on any of my socials yet. It’s called ‘Lying, Still’. It’s no secret that this year was a struggle mentally, and there were months when I spent more asleep than awake (maybe in more sense than one). I found a lot of escapism by inducing a lack of consciousness and even though it is no longer the case now (thank you SSRIs) the feeling will remain a familiar friend. I will let the painting speak further for itself, though. I hope you see something in it that you like.
‘Lying Still’ will be made available for public viewing on 12 November 2022 at the ‘Artists for Ukraine’ exhibition at Cavalieri Hotel in St. Julians, Malta. It is being organised under the patronage of Prof Victor Grech and Prof Richard England. The artwork is available for purchase, and 35% of the proceeds will be donated to the CSR Malta Association in aid of Ukrainian Refugees in Malta.
📧 Kindly contact me at nicole@nicsdebono.com to inquire further.
One of my pieces, Golden Hour Eigengrau, was selected to be exhibited at the South West Academy in Devon (United Kingdom) at Kennaway House, Sidmouth from November 1st - 12th 2022. I was very excited with this news and immediately set out to logistically plan for it to get there quickly given that I live on a pretty isolated island (lol). Unfortunately, the painting never got to Devon and it must have gotten lost in some Bermuda Triangle because it is no longer being tracked (I paid loads for tracking!!) and the service provider I used is extremely unhelpful in helping me find my artwork (I implore that you never use MaltaPost, even their fancy courier services). So, if any of you come across this painting on the black market after I die and become extremely overpriced and exclusive, just know this painting was ✨ lost in the mail✨.
There are two other things which I am itching to write about but I cannot jinx this yet. So hopefully, I can write about this in my hearty end-of-year-wrapping-2022 newsletter. I’m thinking about it already as I have my 2023 goals on my mind, and I want to share them with the world so that I can hold myself accountable for completing them. (Not that anyone cares).
Anyway, that’s basically what’s been happening these past two months, and a brief insight on what’s in store.
I’d like to end this by saying thank you for being on my mailing list and being part of my community, and I’m thrilled that you’re on this journey with me. I hope you’re as excited as me to see what’s in store!
If you haven’t subscribed yet, and viewing this through other channels, feel free to subscribe. I’ll keep it fun, I promise. Also, while you’re here, feel free to check out my website ✨ I gave it a fresh little update recently.
Lots of chaos,
Nicole x