A young artist is using the wall of her living room as a means to make others happy and spark a loving environment in her home.
Nina Geers, 18, is an emerging artist based in Saint Louis, Missouri and Baltimore, Maryland. She is currently a student at MICA in Baltimore. When she moved into her new apartment, she knew she wanted to paint a mural on this wall, a tradition at her school. Nina turned to one of her favorite professional artists, Dallas Clayon, for inspiration. Clayton is best known for his colorful and abstract murals as well as being a celebrated children’s book author. Taking her clues from Clayton, Geers created this eight foot by eight foot conversation starter in her living room. The wall is a mixture of rainbow shapes that resemble light hearted doodles. The phrase “Stand Here And Think About Someone You Love” in bold block letters with outstretched arms is painted underneath it.
(http://instagram.com/ninageers)
The wall is an instant pleaser. It's hard to stand under it and not smile a little. When asked about the reactions she gets from the wall she explained “It is the first thing you see when walking through the apartment door, so people are sometimes startled by the colors and size. Some fellow art students recognize it as Dallas Clayton's work which is cool to know others follow him too.” Besides admiration in person, Clayton himself reposted the wall on Instagram! (An ultimate badge of honor for any emerging artist in this digital age.) Dallas commented on Nina's unique style by explaining "The more often I see people taking what I've done and building it into their own unique property, the happier I become". One of the reasons Geers was so drawn to Clayton’s mural was the conceptual room it leaves for self interpretation. In her own work, She “tries to leave it very open ended to the viewer to find their own meanings and forms.” This ideology is constant throughout many of her paintings like her painting entitled “Pulp”.
(http://instagram.com/ninageers)
Geers explained that both the mural and her original paintings were “created without a final product in mind, only a process. Human brains are hardwired to find recognizable forms in groupings of random shapes such as cloud watching. "Pulp" is similar! It's up to the viewer to find their own meaning”
"What drives you? What fills you with love? What keeps you going when everything else is telling you to shut down?" These are the questions that Clayton and Geers are asking of everyone. Maybe we should all paint our own mural to remind us of the answers. This is only the beginning of thoughtful and playful works from Nina Geers. We certainly cannot wait to see what is next!
"I want to live my life this color!"
