Today we’d like to introduce you to Noelle Holler.
Hi Noelle, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Thank you for the invitation! My inclination to look for beauty everywhere comes from a childhood drunk on nature. I was born in Colorado to an outdoorsy, adventurous family. My dad was a rock climber and my grandfather was an entomologist. They were never in a hurry while hiking; my grandfather was always ready to stop and point out some hidden alpine bloom or strange beetle. Whenever possible, Dad would have us all in a stream, on a peak, or by a campfire. My mother was baptized in the pools of Havasupai in the Grand Canyon and naturally shared her love for Jesus, the One who made all these beautiful spaces. There always seemed to be a friendly, unspoken competition to find something beautiful in nature and share it with each other. I find it amazing and overwhelming, how much in nature is waiting to be discovered and enjoyed, however small and seemingly insignificant it might be.
My family moved to Memphis when I was in junior high. So Memphis is also home to me and a place where I fell in love with music.
I floundered through freshman year at the University of Memphis, wanting to pursue a music degree in Chicago. While waiting on the application process to transfer away, I took an art class and loved it enough to change majors and stay in town. I graduated in 2006 with a BFA in Art Education, specializing in painting. I married my husband, Seth, and we hit the road as he began graduate school.
Over the next fifteen years, we had four wonderful kids and I found a bazillion ways to be creative in my role as a young wife and mother. I took occasional portrait commissions and filled up sketchbooks in my spare moments. My love for children’s picture books blossomed, and I started dreaming about writing and illustrating something of my own. Graduate school and work took us from Kentucky to Arizona to Jakarta, Indonesia, and recently back to Memphis.
With all four kids in school in 2020 (amazingly), I started taking portrait and landscape commissions in earnest. It’s wonderful all the networking that happens through commissions! By the beginning of 2022, I felt a little weary of painting others’ ideas and decided to focus more on art that could support the long-term goal of writing children’s books.
My first collection of paintings was the series “Animal Studies.” Each piece consisted of five small painting sketches of a single animal subject. From this collection sprang the second, a Goldfish series. This led to the privilege of meeting Amanda Goetze of Goetze Art & Design last summer. She invited me to participate in her gallery’s November show “Sporting Life,” where I have a collection of game bird portraits. This first gallery experience has been such an encouragement. Every time a painting sells, I am so amazed and grateful!
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
We’ve been in a financially lean season since returning to the States from Jakarta. Pursuing a viable income through art has felt foolish, to be honest. All the feelings of doubt and fear and wondering what other people think paralyze a creative mind. My husband and mom, really my entire family, have helped to squelch these obstacles with their encouragement. Words cannot say how much I need this to stay on track!
I also can’t stand being on the computer or my phone. Building a website and running an Instagram account are activities that fight against the parts of my brain that are trying to be creative. Nevertheless, I am grateful for how these tools have introduced me to collectors and other artists, all who have become sources of friendly support.
Painting is a lonely sport, another factor that has been a real struggle over the last few years. As someone more extroverted, I find working alone quite draining. I think I would thrive better working in a space alongside other artists.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I specialized in painting with gouache at the U of M and have been pretty faithfully married to this medium for the past 17 years. We just understand each other and I’m convinced it’s the best paint. Archival gouache has a higher pigment load than watercolors, and it has an opaque quality with the similar flow/feel of oils and acrylics. I love how gouache dries to a matte finish, similar to soft pastels. Since the pigments are opaque, there is no need to protect the white of the paper as with watercolors, and you can paint dark to light or light to dark.
Probably the most important factor for success with gouache is controlling the consistency of paint and water, and that just comes with practice.
I have begun to dabble in acrylic and oil painting, but oil is the closest experience to working with gouache. I have plans to paint a small series of beetles and moths in oil for a group art show in late February.
Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
The best support is probably to buy a painting! But a close second is to share my art. It’s easy and free to engage with the work of a favorite artist on Instagram, which remains the best platform for visual artists trying to make a profession from their creative work.
I would love to collaborate, so don’t hesitate to reach out!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.noelleholler.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/noelleholler_art
