Nicole van Dam

M. Nicole van Dam (born 5 June 1962) is an internationally licensed artist and author who frequently blends the art of the written word with the art of the paintbrush. M. Nicole van Dam's works are part of corporate collections and owned by well known private collectors. M. Nicole van Dam's work has been on ongoing public exhibition at various venues and galleries for more than a decade, including that, since approximately 2008, M. Nicole van Dam's fine artwork has been on continuous ongoing exhibition at Santa Barbara, California City Hall. As part of the new construction project of its new Cancer Center building, Community Memorial Hospital acquired a large collection of seventeen M. Nicole van Dam works; these seventeen artworks commenced continuous ongoing exhibition in February 2011, following a display of Nicole's fine art blended with Nicole's poetry and philosophy for Community Memorial Hospital in 2010. M. Nicole van Dam is also a Professor in Entrepreneurship and member of both the Art Department and Business Department at Santa Barbara City College Scheinfeld Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation.
Biography
Born in California of immigrant parents from the Netherlands, M. Nicole van Dam attended Harvard University while still in High School and ultimately degreed from University of Pennsylvania, Cornell University, and University of Southern California. Nicole is married and lives in the California Central Coast area with her husband. Nicole van Dam is primarily inspired by her family (her husband and a Leonberger dog, a rescue Chihuahua dog mix, and two Bourke’s Parrots) and her garden, as shown by the biographical information set forth in various books that she has authored and her blogs http://www.our1earth.com and http://Wishes.bz.
Career
Early Career: Nicole's first public recognition as an artist began when she won a Newport Beach, California city logo contest, shortly followed by her creation in approximately 1978 of a mural of the constellations at the Harvard-Smithsonian Observatory Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and was documented by the Smithsonian Institution as part of their slide collection. In her younger career she also served as Art Director for a small local high school magazine (“Flotsam & Jetsam”) and shortly later as Art Director of University Television at University of Pennsylvania in the early 1980s. Nicole’s writing career also began with early recognition, including her winning first prize in an Orange County, California poetry contest in 1974. In addition to publishing non-fiction writing pertaining to business matters such as “Multimedia and Software Agreements” published by The Daily Journal Corporation in connection with the Digital World 95 Conference. Nicole combined her love of art and business in the “Art Avenue” column (which was published in the 1990s in both the “Equine Images - The National Magazine of Equine Art" and “Canine Image” magazines) and in her current series of how-to reference books published under the SuperQuick trademark name.
Through her Dutch parents, Nicole was exposed from an early age to beautiful European art at a wide array of museums, and Nicole was particularly influenced by the Dutch Kröller-Müller Museum. Nicole has written that while at the Kröller-Müller Museum, she was influenced by Vincent Van Gogh's "Sunflowers," Pablo Picasso's "Nude Descending a Staircase," and other great works, all seen in a particularly influential visit by Nicole to the Kröller-Müller Museum's then (according to Nicole's description) uncrowded setting that encouraged close engagement with the art. Nicole's artistic preference became the great Impressionists - particularly Claude Monet and Vincent Van Gogh with their lively colors and movement. Nicole has written that she also enjoys the compositional freedom of early Modernist Marc Chagall, the beautiful lighting techniques of Johannes Vermeer, the sfumato techniques of Leonardo da Vinci, the cheery interplay of simplicity and complexity of Andrea della Robbia, and the style of Louis Comfort Tiffany. The majority of Nicole's compositions (for example "Passion Flower" and "Chef at the Farmer's Market"), shows these influences at play. The overall impact of Nicole's diverse background is a body of artwork that has a recognizable style and feel. As a California native born of Dutch immigrant parents and educated in the East, Nicole’s work expresses strong West Coast, East Coast, and European influences, artistically blended with an Impressionist flair. Nicole’s has written that she strives for a style and distinctive color palette that gives each work a joyously whimsical feel that is yet somehow also reminiscent of a time when life was less hectic. It is this feel to her works that is the basis for Nicole's motto: "Art that makes your heart sing with the memory of what could be."
Current Career: M. Nicole van Dam currently is an internationally licensed artist and author, as well as a Professor in Entrepreneurship and member of both the Art Department and Business Department at Santa Barbara City College Scheinfeld Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation. As an international artist, her work is licensed by international manufacturers for many products, such as glass plates, tile wall murals, coasters, and collectibles, and as a result people around the world have purchased her work, and she has been written up in collector newsletters and featured by other arts organizations. Examples of the many products made using licensed images of Nicole's art can be seen at http://www.artstudio.bz. In 1978, Nicole as a solo artist did a mural of the constellations and astrological symbols inside the Harvard/Smithsonian Observatory dome Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. A list with images of M. Nicole van Dam's most well-known works is also available online.

Exhibitions and Access: Nicole's art has been exhibited publicly many times at various venues, and one of her solo exhibitions in 2006 has been recorded by Marjorie Cronshaw on behalf of the Montecito, California Montecito History Committee and Nicole was named an artist to watch by the "Montecito Journal." Since approximately 2008 Nicole's fine artwork has been on continuous ongoing exhibition at Santa Barbara, California City Hall. Community Memorial Hospital acquired a large collection of 17 M. Nicole van Dam works which commenced continuous, ongoing exhibition of these M. Nicole van Dam artworks since February 2011, following a display of Nicole's artwork and poetry in 2010 . A full portfolio of M. Nicole van Dam's artwork can be seen on the web at http://www.NicolevanDam.com. A list with images of M. Nicole van Dam's most well-known works is available online. Examples of the many products made using licensed images of her art can be seen at http://www.artstudio.bz. A retrospective of M. Nicole van Dam works has also been published, entitled “M. Nicole van Dam, A Retrospective 2010” M. Nicole van Dam’s gallery exhibitions often include recitations of her poetry and philosophy combined with her art, in large part taken from her book “Tempo - The Rhythm and Rhyme of the Artist”
Children's Books - “Inca Dink, The Great Houndini” and "Rosie and Emma Plant a Seed": M. Nicole van Dam is the author, illustrator and co-narrator with Dominic Byrne for her children's book, "Inca Dink, The Great Houndini.". “Inca Dink, The Great Houndini” is available in traditional print and digitally (narrated version is digital primarily for Apple Inc. iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. The main characters of “Inca Dink, The Great Houndini” are Hilary Mouse and Inca Dink, a Leonberger dog magician in training. Merchandise has been created themed towards these two “Inca Dink, The Great Houndini” characters M. Nicole van Dam is also the author and illustrator of her children's book, "Rosie and Emma Plant a Seed." "Rosie and Emma Plant a Seed" is an illustrated children’s book about a young girl Emma and her Leonberger dog Rosie, who find a mysterious seed and plant it. As the seed grows, so do Emma and Rosie’s adventures, and the book shares M. Nicole van Dam's love of gardening and nature as well as teaches about teamwork and friendship.
Adult Books - "Tempo - The Rhythm and Rhyme of the Artist" and "Through the Artist's Eyes": M. Nicole van Dam is also the author of several adult works, including "Through the Artist's Eyes" and [http://www.amazon.com/dp/1453802118 "Tempo - The Rhythm & Rhyme of the Artist."]. Each of these books pairs her artwork with her poetry and philosophy, such as the combination in "Tempo - The Rhythm and Rhyme of the Artist" of the "Voting Booth" painting with her poem "Politics". M. Nicole van Dam attributes her creativity in making these diverse works to the inspiration provided by her family, garden and pets, as shown by her blog http://www.our1earth.com.
How-To Books - In 2010-2011 M. Nicole van Dam authored three educational books regarding the internet, e-commerce, and social media, which are available on Amazon.com. The first how-to book by M. Nicole van Dam is , and it discusses how to use Facebook and Facebook ads. The second how-to book is [http://astore.amazon.com/superquickpublications-20 “SuperQuick™ WordPress: Easy, FREE and Fast Website, Smart Phone and e-Commerce Solutions!”], and it discusses how to use WordPress to create e-commerce and blogging websites. The third how-to book by M. Nicole van Dam is , which discusses social media and marketing, as well as e-commerce and intellectual property on the web.

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