Nadine J Walters – My Life

Question for myself: What is happening with your art?

Answer:
Right now, I’m focused on wrapping up my 100 Faces Project and diving into a new class called Building Layers.

Let’s start with the 100 Faces. I’m currently on Face #70, and I’m realizing just how much of a challenge this project has been—in the best way. I’ve noticed real improvement in both the likeness and proportions of my portraits, and I can complete them much more quickly than when I started. I’m not aiming for perfection; I’m aiming for interesting and different.

The best part is the confidence I’ve gained. Instead of stressing over each portrait, I just sit down and do it. I experiment with unusual colors, sometimes leave out features entirely, and make each one unique. Sure, some of them don’t work out—but honestly, who cares? No one is waiting on a gallery show. These are just pictures, and that freedom makes the process even more rewarding.

What I’m really enjoying right now is trying to simplify the lines I use to define the face while amplifying the marks and textures that surround it. I’m aiming to capture a person’s essence and personality—how I feel about them, and what their expression seems to say.

As for Building Layers, I just started the class yesterday. It’s a mixed media course that focuses on creating artwork on paper rather than canvas or board. This is a shift for me, as I tend to be a pretty minimalist painter. The process involves building up multiple layers using paint, collage, marks, mediums, and basically anything else you can imagine throwing in. It sounds like chaos—in a good way.

Yesterday was mostly instruction, but today I get to start creating. I know I can be impatient, but I’m committed to embracing the process. I’m aiming for the “mostest and bestest” layers I can make.

So that’s where my art practice stands right now: steady, simple, and quietly evolving. I’m learning to let go of perfection, trust my instincts, and have more fun along the way.