Alexandrea Nicholas-Jennings
IN WONDERLAND
‘The Plague Doctor’ by Alexandrea Nicholas-Jennings, Size 16 x 17 inches, Nitram Charcoal on toned paper
WITH NITRAM CHARCOAL
Can you tell us a little bit about your art?My name is Alexandrea Nicholas-Jennings and sometimes I'm Alice. I'm a Classically trained artist who has studied Classical Realism in New York City and Toronto, as well as earning three university degrees in Fine Art and Art Education from the U.S. And Canada. I am an Imaginative Realist artist telling my story. My artwork is me. My 'Alex in Wonderland' series is autobiographical and began with my first tumble down the rabbit hole. This is when Alex/Alice was born. Although my story is similar to Alice's and parallels hers – it is not identical. Serendipitously, I found my life unfolding and paralleling, in the order of the chapters of Wonderland. Wonderland is not a place – it is a state of mind. My work is about personal trauma but more importantly my resilience and my grit. My work is about beauty – beauty being “truth” not saccharine, even when some things may seem dark and ugly at times. As part of my adventures I continue to travel the world in pursuit of seeing the best art that influences, inspires and informs my work each day growing “Curiouser and Curiouser”.
Could you please share your insights on Nitram Charcoal?
Nitram Charcoal is the most beautiful product and I love using it in all of my professional drawings. This charcoal medium is extremely versatile and can be used in very diverse ways providing the artist with limitless choice and freedom when creating a drawing. It offers the artist the ability to create drawings that feel like paintings, facilitating a Tonalist or a Mass drawing approach. Conversely, Nitram Charcoal also offers the artist the autonomy to create very delicate Linear drawings as these sticks can be sanded down using Nitram's signature sanding block to the finest syringe-like point. Nitram is a leader in this drawing medium as it offers so much range in density from very hard to soft charcoal sticks and so much range in between. There are no limitations to this medium. In my Classical art training, I loved creating all of my student academic cast drawings using Nitram Charcoal and I continue to use it with great enthusiasm as a professional artist. It goes without saying, that I am partial to the Nitram Petits Mignonettes Charcoal – as my self portrait dons the front of the box and I used Nitram Charcoal to create this drawing. This self portrait using Nitram entitled “The Fortune Teller” was also published and celebrated in The Best of Drawing Magazine 2024. Thank you Nitram for creating this beautiful product that helps me to create Art That Elevates.
~ Alexandrea Nicholas-Jennings
Alexandrea Nicholas-Jennings has just been designated “Signature Status” from the Portrait Society of America (Dec 2023). Her self portrait “The Fortune Teller” was published in “The Best of Drawing Magazine” (2024). Alexandrea won the Boynes Artist Award for the topic “Red” and was granted an Artist's Interview with them (Jan 2024). She is a Canadian artist who has been academically trained in painting and drawing in both New York City (GCA) and Toronto (ARA). After her first tumble down the rabbit hole she has been creating Imaginative Realist works under the pseudonym of Alice and sometimes Alex in her autobiographical ‘Alex in Wonderland Series’. She exhibited two paintings at the Salmagundi Club and one drawing that received the Gwynne Lennon Prize (2023). She exhibited two paintings at Dacia Gallery in separate shows in New York City (2022-2023). Alexandrea was interviewed for American Art Collector Magazine and her work appeared in the March 2023 edition. Her work has been juried into the John B. Aird online exhibit again (2022). She won the Best of Portrait – Top Prize – in the Miracle of the Portrait Competition (2022) with The Portrait Society of Canada. Her drawing “Leviathan and His Gentleman” was featured in “The Best of Drawing Magazine” (2023). Alexandrea was a Semi-Finalist in the ARC Salon Competition (2022) and she won the Gold Medal at The Robert McLaughlin Art Gallery (2019). She received the Bronze Medal from The Society of Canadian Artists at The Paper Mill Gallery in Toronto (2019). She was a Finalist in the 13th International ARC Salon Competition (2017), was a double finalist in December 2017 in the Portrait Society of America Members Only Competition. Her drawing was published in “Strokes of Genius 8. She has exhibited in many shows at the Richeson Gallery and has won an Award of Merit there. She has appeared in American Artist Magazine (2012) and her self portrait is featured on the package cover for Nitram Petits Mignonettes Charcoal. Speaking professionally is a passion of hers and she gave a lecture entitled “From Academic to Imaginative Realism” at The Robert McLaughlin Art Gallery (2020). Her work was accepted by The Principle Gallery in Alexandria, Virginia (2016) and in 2022 she was invited to write and article for the Portrait Society of America’s Member's Journal.
Alexandrea was trained in Classical Academic Realism at the Grand Central Atelier in New York City and the Academy of Realist Art in Toronto. She holds an Honors Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree and a Bachelor of Arts Education as well as an Honors Bachelor of Arts Education from the University of Western Ontario.
Her memberships include the Portrait Society of America (2007-2024), The Salmagundi Club in NYC (2023-2024), The Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto (2020-2024) and the Oshawa Art Association (2019-2024).
Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, Pinterest: @AlexandreaArtist
Website: AlexandreaArtist.com