Nicholas Canales

From Palm Springs California, Nicholas Canales (b.1970) has been creating art at Momentum Creative Studios since 1990. A mixed-media artist who travels to different places through his artwork, Canales has a fascination with the histories and stories of people and places. He spends his time having dialogues with others, writing poetry to honour family and friends, researching South American wildlife, and prolifically drawing and painting creatures from the natural world, pop culture icons, and the people and important moments from his life. A gifted storyteller, Canales loves to share his art with others, wanting his work to tell stories without words.

Primarily working with colored pencils, and occasionally acrylic paint on paper, Canales can spend anywhere from six to nine months on a single piece of artwork. Taken from his love of native tribal designs, vibrant color palettes, patterns and geometric shapes feature heavily across his work.

One of his proudest exhibitions was having work alongside his peers in a photography exhibition, where he was also commissioned to document the launch event: “Beautiful memories captured by the lens of imagination.” Canales’ work has featured in several group exhibitions including Core 13: Defining Ourselves (2017) at The Liberty Gallery in Long Beach, Personal Curiosities (2014) at Brewery Art Walk, and in several yearly versions of the Blank Canvas exhibition since 2012 at The Washington Reid Gallery, which was part of Momentum Creative Studios.