Nick Yohanan Art

Here's a bit about me...

Although I was born in Elkhorn, Wisconson, I grew up in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Ever since my childhood, I've continued to live on the eastern side of Colorado, having it's familiar Rocky Mountains always mark my western horizon.

In my childhood, I had never much considered art as a mode for living. I did about as much art then as can be expected in public schools, but I don't deny that it had an influence on where I am now. In high school, I took digital photography which expanded my interest in filmmaking. After some consideration, I wanted to go to university to learn how to do it.

I attended the University of Colorado Denver for a couple of years as a theatre, film, and television major. My experience with production was close to what I had dreamed to do with filmmaking. However, it soon became aparent to me that filmmaking had an increased focus on technicality over raw expression. It's why when you sit through the credits of movies there's a seemingly endless list of individuals behind the production. Everything needs to happen acording to a production plan, at least within the system that we as film students needed to produce films by. Although film can be a powerful medium when the right group of people come together, it left little room for self-expression and I wanted my voice to be heard, so I reconsidered my career.

I moved up to Colorado State University in Fort Collins to learn art. In my time exploring the foundations of art, I've experimented with the mediums of drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, graphic art, and interactive art. I tend to lean towards creating digital-based art mediums, as I've been acostumed to using technology to create things since I was a kid. However, my time in university has made me appreciate the avenues of expression within other artistic mediums. Drawing has become a favorite of mine for it's challenge of capturing images and how unexpectedly beautiful they can be when done right.

Although the focus of my art varies per project, I tend to enjoy creating pieces that make commentary on the narratives and experiences of individuality. I do most of my art by myself, which I feel helps to communicate messages on an intimate level. With photography, I take a lot of my inspiration from cinematography in movies to frame my shots. It's a charachteristic which has stuck with me since film school. With graphic and interactive art, my inspiration comes from a background of gaming. I enjoy expressing the feelings surounding moments I've had within gaming. I find game design fascinating in how 3d environents are created to facilitate memorable moments in gameplay as it's means of expression. It's an artform that I continue to explore as I grow as an artist.