PASSION TO PURPOSE
Hi, I’m Nicki Nysven. I live in San Luis Obispo. I’ve always loved to draw and paint, but didn’t realize this passion would turn into a purpose until recently. I have two children who have Lyme disease and co-infections and our family has been deeply affected. Life sucks ass sometimes, but it’s all about how you choose to handle it and I had to change my mindset. I turned to art as a form of self-therapy.
My daughter has been sick with chronic Lyme disease for most of her life and the last 3 ½ years it has taken her childhood from her. My son contracted a co-infection of Lyme and his life changed dramatically. It took me a while into our journey with these medical challenges to figure out that if I didn’t change my mindset I would either fall into a deep depression or lose my mind. Watching your children go through these challenges makes you feel so helpless and ask “Why us, why my kids?” I had to dig deep to figure out how to remain strong for my family to fight for helping my kids get well.
Instead of focusing on negatives I needed to find positives. I started turning the negatives into positives. One was knowing that I can’t control what tomorrow will bring but I can control how I handle it. A way to do that for me was to paint. One day I decided to post some of my paintings on Instagram. Instagram is my positive place to post what makes me happy and art makes me happy. Merrissa of Rad Maverix Republic expressed how much she liked my artwork and asked me to paint her logo in watercolor form for her upcoming T-shirt collection. Talk about an absolutely incredible opportunity and how absolutely incredible that she put so much trust in me to paint her logo, her brand that represents her. I will always be forever grateful for her. That painting kick started my art journey to a whole other level.
People started to express interest in my art and share how they really liked it. A lot of people asked to buy my paintings. More and more friends and others asked me to paint for them and it was a lot of fun. With the increasing interest, I decided to get a logo, apply for a city business license and see what would happen organically. I did all that and now “Nicki Lenore” is officially a business.
Each piece I create is carefully thought out and made from my heart. Most importantly, I am enjoying it. I guess you can say that in a way, art has saved me and I didn’t realize that until now as I write this bio.
Family, friends, and many other incredible people have been a huge support along the way.
Lyme disease started this journey which was dark at times, but my art was a positive force in my life that shed light through the negativity. So here I am writing this in awe that my paintings have a purpose now in so many ways. Our Lyme journey isn’t over, but at least this is a HUGE positive that’s come out of a HUGE negative.
I’m incredibly grateful to be able to turn my passion into a purpose and that helps others through the process of spreading Lyme Disease Awareness.
Toward that end, I’ve been given an opportunity here in my hometown to have my paintings displayed in a beautiful high-end boutique called “Ambiance.” Lucy Huffman, manager of the Paso Robles store, took immediate interest in my artwork and has given me this amazing opportunity. I am grateful and super excited to see where this journey leads me.
My daughter has been sick with chronic Lyme disease for most of her life and the last 3 ½ years it has taken her childhood from her. My son contracted a co-infection of Lyme and his life changed dramatically. It took me a while into our journey with these medical challenges to figure out that if I didn’t change my mindset I would either fall into a deep depression or lose my mind. Watching your children go through these challenges makes you feel so helpless and ask “Why us, why my kids?” I had to dig deep to figure out how to remain strong for my family to fight for helping my kids get well.
Instead of focusing on negatives I needed to find positives. I started turning the negatives into positives. One was knowing that I can’t control what tomorrow will bring but I can control how I handle it. A way to do that for me was to paint. One day I decided to post some of my paintings on Instagram. Instagram is my positive place to post what makes me happy and art makes me happy. Merrissa of Rad Maverix Republic expressed how much she liked my artwork and asked me to paint her logo in watercolor form for her upcoming T-shirt collection. Talk about an absolutely incredible opportunity and how absolutely incredible that she put so much trust in me to paint her logo, her brand that represents her. I will always be forever grateful for her. That painting kick started my art journey to a whole other level.
People started to express interest in my art and share how they really liked it. A lot of people asked to buy my paintings. More and more friends and others asked me to paint for them and it was a lot of fun. With the increasing interest, I decided to get a logo, apply for a city business license and see what would happen organically. I did all that and now “Nicki Lenore” is officially a business.
Each piece I create is carefully thought out and made from my heart. Most importantly, I am enjoying it. I guess you can say that in a way, art has saved me and I didn’t realize that until now as I write this bio.
Family, friends, and many other incredible people have been a huge support along the way.
Lyme disease started this journey which was dark at times, but my art was a positive force in my life that shed light through the negativity. So here I am writing this in awe that my paintings have a purpose now in so many ways. Our Lyme journey isn’t over, but at least this is a HUGE positive that’s come out of a HUGE negative.
I’m incredibly grateful to be able to turn my passion into a purpose and that helps others through the process of spreading Lyme Disease Awareness.
Toward that end, I’ve been given an opportunity here in my hometown to have my paintings displayed in a beautiful high-end boutique called “Ambiance.” Lucy Huffman, manager of the Paso Robles store, took immediate interest in my artwork and has given me this amazing opportunity. I am grateful and super excited to see where this journey leads me.
NICKI NYSVEN
nickilenore@gmail.com
nickilenore@gmail.com
