Have you made your way down to Splash Studio yet?
If not, you must be crazy.

Since its opening in late March, Splash has become a Milwaukee favorite hot spot. Whether you are coming in for a full session or just for a drink at the bar, everyone seems to love the experience. I am so happy to be working for them and a part of this trendy painting inspired bar. If you are not familiar with Splash, it is a painting bar located at 184 Broadway in the third ward where you can come drink, paint and repeat. Have a drink at the bar while you watch a session, participate, or grab a mini-canvas and paint on your own. Whatever you choose, you are welcome to come spark up your creative side. If you are already and artist, we encourage you to show off your skills and do your own painting. Everything you need is provided and we even clean up. Sessions are around 3 hours long, but you are free to leave early or stay late. You just need to come down and be willing to try a little something different.

“The vibe was really good. Nord did a great job providing conversational, upbeat, yet technical, instructions. Painters chatted a lot with one another, some wandered around during the session to glean inspiration or to give compliments.”
–Molly Snyder,
Associate Editor OnMilwaukee.com While being an instructor, I have painted with all types of people. From private parties to couples on a date to artists who have been painting 15 years, all have a great time at Splash. I love helping people get in touch with their creative side. If you come in with your own idea, we help you to make it happen. Often at the beginning of a session I hear, “I have no artistic ability, I think mine is going to stink.” Then over the course of the session that customer finds their way and begins to loose themselves in painting! By the last couple steps, they can’t even hear my instruction anymore since they are so engulfed in their work. Even with little advertising the word has spread all the way from Minnesota to Chicago and Friday and Saturday nights are usually packed. I had the pleasure of teaching a writer from OnMilwaukee.com one Friday night while teaching “Oceana.”
She wrote a great review that you can read Here.

Click Here to Reserve a Spot.

Next Saturday, July 21st, I will be teaching a painting with a little twist. I was commissioned by Splash Studio to create a 8-bit inspired session for our first ever 8-bit night. That’s right, a night dedicated to the first video game that everyone fell in love with -8-bit Mario.  While other guests play the old school game in the front, I will be instructing on how to create your very own one of a kind 8-bit character.  Feel free to follow along or come up with your own 8-bit idea. If your a gamer, be sure to come in for this one.

The following Friday, July 27th, Splash will be having a super-secret late night gallery night after party. The painting session is a surprise, but let me tell you this session will leave you glowing. I will be your guide from 10pm to midnight as we make one of the most unique paintings ever. Sign up for the session Here.

So come on down to Splash Studio, check out our website at SplashMilwaukee.com for our calendar of paintings and like Splash’s Facebook Page.
See you there!

SplashMilwaukee.com

May was a crazy month and I think June is going to top it. All good times with good people. I have been posting a lot of updates on my facebook artist’s page, but I thought I would put up some pictures of some of the events I have been doing. I have really been fortunate to show a lot of work around Milwaukee right now and live paint. I am almost down to no paintings left!

Here are some highlights of what I was up to the past six weeks. Photo Album in order:

• Posters of Paris Opening! My first opening at the Milwaukee Art Museum
• Painting a Fiberglass heart with fellow artists Kelli Busch and Steph Davis from the Waxwing. Other hearts will be all around Shorewood this summer, but I am sure ours is the best!
• Splash Studio private party with my bff Johnna Calvillo
• My work all set and displayed at Splash Studio
• Live painting for Bel Canto courts. I was invited to live paint during the end of the year concert for the chorus. I loved the event and loved how the piece turned out!
• Display of new work at Art Milwaukee’s Jamboree at Milwaukee Athletic Club.
  HTML laser cut paintings!
• Bay View Gallery Night at the Hide House
• Live painting for Brady Street Art Walk with my bff Johnna
• Ending with – Live painting for Milwaukee’s Common Pitch event at Turner Hall Ballroom. I like painted in the VIP section of the balcony and made my own Posters of Paris themed painting

Go see some of my work,

My paintings and prints are at SIX locations around Milwaukee for the next month. I am honored to be a part of the community and to get such great opportunities as an artist.

Gallery Night Oh What a Night

April 20th Marked the Opening Night of a
Show That Will Run Three Months in Mercy Hill.Another wonderful evening for Milwaukee and it’s local artists. My only regrets about this past April Gallery Night, is that it went too fast and I did not get to see much of any other artist’s work. People were out and about and willing to participate in the arts. I was showing around fifteen pieces both new and old at Mercy Hill Church. It is located inside the Bay View Hide House where I have shown my work before. I have always admired the beautiful and large space and I was honored to be working with them. For the show, I had a large four by five foot canvas for group painting and I set up my own canvas to also live paint for the night of the event. We also were lucky to have a local singer songwriter from Madison perform. Hannah Luree rocked all night, find out more about her Here.

The goal of this show was to create an environment free of judgment about art and just create a space that emits positive energy for people to participate in creativity. All my recent works are about making you feel calm and uplifted when viewing. I work when I feel inspired by the things around me and turn it into something beautiful and approachable. Working as a graphic designer all day, I constantly see images, colors and textures that move me. Then, when I am back in my studio, I recall it all as inspiration. This is not an ordinary way to paint and I did not want it to be an ordinary show. I wanted the night to be about involving the public, showing them art is not intimidating and that my shows are not going to be like a regular gallery show – I think we succeeded.

There were many firsts at this show. One of which was called Duo. My boyfriend Jason and I created an interactive art piece called Duo that actually rotates right on the wall. It is a geometric diptych that uses magnets and a mechanism on the back frame of the work to lock in place either vertical or horizontal. The piece didn’t stop moving all night and people were creating different combinations with the two canvases that I never even thought of. Every time I looked, the canvases we aligned a different way–fourty-five degrees, one vertical and one horizontal, at one point both canvases making a triangle–it was awesome. I want to pursue this since most of my paintings can be hung in any direction. I really like this idea of flipping a regular gallery show on it’s head. Getting people to really change their minds about galleries and art starts with inviting them to interact and be part of the discussion.

Another first was the documentation of the event. I was able to have my friend Bruce Anttila van Hoover photographing the event, Thanks Bruce! You can find out more about him at thisisbruce.com. All photos are courtesy of him. I was also lucky enough to have a friend video record the live painting sessions in time-lapse video. Through the Milwaukee Makerspace, I was connected to David R. Overbeck. He volunteered his services as a videographer and recorded both my individual painting and a larger group painting that was open to the public. You can see more about David at his site korporate-media.com. Check out the time-lapse below that David created after the event below.

I was so happy this video captured not only my canvas, but also the group canvas. I lost count at how many people were on the group canvas! Live painting, group painting and interactive art is a way to get people talking about art without secluding people who are new to the art scene. I am always telling viewers to just tell me how they feel in front of my art or to just jump on the group canvas without thinking. There are no judgments, I believe everyone is creative in their own way but it just takes some coercing to reveal it sometimes.

Below are some more pictures that Bruce took during the night. They can also be found on my facebook page facebook.com/DenaNordArtist. Always remember to “like” my artist page if you want me to keep posting! There will also be an additional video to come from David. We did an preliminary interview in my studio and some interviews at the event and will be in a video to come. David is working on putting it all together as a promotional material for me to use to show people what my style and idea of an event is. – Thank you thank you David!

Stay tuned for another upcoming video and enjoy the gallery below!

APRIL 20th | 6-10 PM
Gallery Night
at Mercy Hill

located inside the
Bay View Hide House
2625 S Greeley St
Milwaukee, WI 53207
Click Here for Directions

SEE MAP

• Live Music
• Live Painting
• Complimentary Refreshments
• New Work from Dena Nord
• Special Interactive Piece – TBA

Spring might be my favorite gallery night. This April gallery night, I will be showing a large body of work at Mercy Hill church located inside the art factory known as the Hide House in Bay View. On display will around fifteen pieces including a mix of new and old work. This will be the largest show I have ever created and I can’t wait to share it with Milwaukee. I will be showing range of work including framed and unframed prints, framed medium size paintings and a brand new, four by five foot creation named James.

New Painting James 4' x 5' (Detail)

James was first created while my good friend James Zarate was hanging out at our house. I showed him the brand new white canvas and asked him if we wanted to paint with me. James was timid at first but soon really showed off his creative skills. He helped make the basic composition that was the structure I then filled in. This painting morphs shapes with bright colors and moves your eye effortlessly around and around the canvas. You won’t want to miss it!

Click to see more about Mercy Hill Church

I am honored to be in the beautiful and contemporary space of Mercy Hill. It’s located on the first floor of the Bay View Hide House. I am so thankful to have the opportunity to show my work there. I have shown my work twice in the main entry way of the Hide House and have always had my eye on the large space of Mercy Hill. They have always been such a great and welcoming group of people. They love to push the arts on gallery night and they have been a pleasure to work with. Mercy Hill is committed to a philosophy of church that values community and focuses on the development of people rather than the expansion of the organization. The Hide House itself has over thirty studio spaces on the second and third floors that will also be open for viewing. Mercy Hill has booked a singer/songwriter from Madison to give us some LIVE TUNES. There will also be delicious COMPLIMENTARY REFRESHMENTS, thanks to Mercy Hill.

View of cafe in Mercy Hill

Adding to the festivities, I will also be LIVE PAINTING. I want to be able to show people how I work and talk to viewers as I’m painting. I will be creating a painting from start to finish over the course of the four hour show. To document the painting, a friend of Milwaukee Makerspace, David R. Overbeck ,will be video recording the whole painting in time-lapse video.

Live Painting for Pabst earlier this year

You can find out more about David at his site of korporate-media.com or you can see more of his video work at vimeo.com/user803725/albums. This will be the first time I will ever be recorded in time-lapse video and I hope it is not my last. I want to give a huge thank you to David for recording the event. Can’t wait to be working with him!  Thank you so much in advance to him and my boyfriend Jason for getting that all set-up. There will be a video and interview to come after the event. IF THAT was not enough – I also have another great friend, Bruce Anttila van Hoover, that is coming to photograph the event as well. Bruce and I have meet while he was photographing events for AIGA-WI. He has always been a delight to talk to and very helpful in photography knowledge. You can find out more about Bruce at his website, thisisbruce.com. The event is sure to be well documented with all the cameras around. I am so lucky to have the support from these other artists and I hope to return the favor to them someday any way I can.

SIGN UP to be on my mailing list to make sure you get the latest info about this upcoming show or other upcoming happenings. Hope to see you all there!

Event postcard and Eblast to come soon