Meet Nikki McCauley: Artist, Writer, Performer, Content Creator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Nikki McCauley and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Nikki, can you tell us more about your background and the role it’s played in shaping who you are today?
I’m not really “from” anywhere! I was raised in a military family and we moved every few years. We were stationed in Madrid, Spain when I was younger and proceeded to move mostly in the Southern region of the U.S. until we landed in Texas. While moving from place to place, and frequently visiting my mother’s family, who all still lived in her native Venezuela, my dad made sure we visited as many countries as possible, exposing us to different foods, languages, music, dance, as well as those cultures’ art and textiles, which are so much more colorful than we usually see in the states.

When I first started showing my visual art about seven years ago, I was working more with warm watercolors and a lot of white empty space. Perhaps it was the massive amounts of colors I was exposed to in European and Central and South American textiles and architecture that made me want to keep my art light and clean and simple at first; but recently my style has shifted. Now I am going back to my roots, per se, and am finding myself really drawn to more and more color! I want to fill up every bit of white space in my pieces with bright vibrant paint. A swirl of fast-paced, colorful, and somewhat chaotic activity, which mirrors the essence of my childhood.

I get asked a lot if moving so much was hard as a kid. But I honestly didn’t know life any other way, so for me it was the norm. And I do believe I owe the discipline I have around creating and being an entrepreneur in the art world to that military work ethic and my constantly-changing upbringing. Of course, having to make new friends in each new town we moved to could sometimes be a challenge at first, but as long as I had my pencil and paper, it didn’t bother me that I had to sit at the lunch table on my own for a few weeks until some nice kid sidled up next to the new girl and shared their fruit snacks with her.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I make art in many forms. I paint, write, illustrate, voice act, perform, direct, and create original content. I’m a strong believer that you should always do whatever the divine is whispering to you…whatever you feel inspired to create in that moment. And the divine happens to whisper a lot of different creations to me!

Some days can be quite eventful as I run from a voice-over gig to a creative meeting for an original adult-animation project and then back home to my studio to finish a commissioned painting and illustrate some pages for a children’s book. And I can honestly say I go to bed feeling like I never “worked” at all that day. I feel really lucky to have so many artistic pots I can dip into at any given moment. It keeps life exciting! And am so grateful that I keep getting opportunities that allow me to continue creating what I want to create.

If I were to describe the through-line of my art as a whole, I would say it’s “a whimsical, comically dark, irreverently funny interpretation of life with an underlying commentary on justice, awareness, and spirituality… that also looks good, of course ;)”. I have a creative partner and we call our company We’re So Sorry Productions, which may give you a little idea of our humor. In reality we create smart, subversive content that we’re not at all sorry for, but hope will lead the viewer to having some form of an A-ha moment.

What am I currently excited about? Well, I’ve been painting larger pieces this year, and I’m really eager to keep exploring and see where that goes. I’m also stoked on these female South Park-type adult animations my partner and I are working on and about to release in the world. And very thrilled to start directing some weird edgy commercial content. But most of all I am excited for the next thing that is coming around the corner that is totally unexpected… because the unpredictable projects are the most magical, the most exciting to me.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?

If I had a friend visiting me in LA, I would first have to take them on a hike. Yes, a hike. Listen, there is a reason people always talk about ‘hiking in LA’ – it’s beautiful! I live near the Ferndell entrance of Griffith Park and there are a few hikes with wonderful views up there. So that would be the first stop. And after the hike I would take my friend to Trails. An amazing outdoor cafe right at the trail heads with homemade goodies and great coffee! I would highly recommend the cheddar chive biscuit but wouldn’t be mad if they got the chocolate lavender scone. (So I could eat some, of course). We could then hop on the redline (because taking the train is fun) and go to The Broad museum downtown. A newer museum in LA with wonderful art installations in a stunning building. And there’s a few cute bodegas and restaurants around the courtyard where I would suggest a little cappuccino while we sit and rest our museum legs. Then right across the street is the MOCA! So we could always pop in there as well. They offer two tickets for the price of one if you took the Metro there – which we had just taken… so boom!
From there we could either go to The Grand Central Market (that has around 30 amazing spots to eat all under one roof!) or head to Chinatown to check out the historic and stunning architecture and cool little shops there. After exploring a bit, we could nosh at the amazing sandwich shop, Wax Paper (a must!) From there we could hop on the purple line to the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA. Yes, another museum. But I’m the type of museum goer that is like one of those ladies in the 90’s who used to speed walk in malls – only pausing at the pieces that really stop me in my tracks. Also, the museum will give us time for our bellies to settle before heading to Angel City Brewery just down the street for a beer in the courtyard. That is unless we wanted to explore little Tokyo first, which is always fun.
Either way, the goal is to head towards the Arts District, which begins just a few streets beyond Angel City Brewery. And once you’re in the Arts District, you can weave in and out of streets looking at the amazing murals on the sides of buildings and stop at cool shops, and there are plenty of options for a yummy dinner! If you really want to treat yourself and your friend and you have the funds – Bestia is the spot (make reservations). Or if you want to keep it more low key, I love Wurstküche – an authentic German sausage place that also has amazing vegan options and great fries!
After that very very long day, if we still had the energy, I would end the night at Villains Tavern, a very cool bar at the edge of the Arts District that usually has some type of live music and great drinks.
Obviously this massive day could be split into two or three days, and I would trickle in some other places I would want my friend to check out. Downtown has the gorgeous Hotel Nomad that is fun to hang and grab a drink or just have a coffee in one of their beautiful nooks. And then of course there’s the Last Bookstore, which is a historical Los Angeles must. Thousands of new and Used books with such cool architecture and personality. Some other fun outdoor stuff to do is the Echo Park swan paddle boats at Echo Park lake, and the Vermont tennis courts nestled in the canyon of Griffith Park (and if you walk past the tennis courts there are some more really wonderful trails with phenomenal views) and Spokes Bicycle Cafe where you can rent bikes and ride along the LA river. Other amazing food spots I recommend are All Time off Hillhurst that serves breakfast lunch and dinner and every meal there is scrumptious! And Home State, that serves breakfast and lunch Texas style tacos, and as a Texas gal I can honestly say they are legit! And just across the street is my favorite art store, Blue Rooster. Also, a late night cool spot is Zebulon that has a bar with great drinks and snacks with a cool music venue and outdoor patio. I think I’ve seen Reggie Watts perform there about 4 times and would do it again! Oh! And Saturday farmers market in Silver Lake off Edge Cliff is great. I go almost every Saturday. It’s a smallish market but it has all the things you need with great prices and quality vendors. They also have several quality clothing stalls that are always fun to browse. And lastly, make sure to stop by Tabula Rasa in Thai Town to get some natural wine and a bite if you’re hungry. Their wine selection is unbeatable and they can help you find what you’re looking for in the natural wine world. I’m an orange wine gal – and they always have so many amazing options. Okay, that’s my East side of LA tour! Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I have to give a huge shout out to my Aunt Lucy. I can honestly say, if it were not for her , I would not have had the courage to pursue a career in the arts. I am eternally grateful to her and her unconditional love and support. Lucy McCauley is an editor, a writer, a documentary filmmaker, and my biggest champion. From the time I was a little girl she was encouraging me to make tiny watercolor cards. We named them “chigger cards” (after the nickname my brother had for me.. and of course because of the tiny nature of the watercolor piece). Lucy lived in Boston at the time, and we would sell the cards in Harvard Square. Being able to sell something I had painted with my own hands, helped me to see that I could actually make money doing what I loved – making art! To this day – she is always helping me to expand who I am as a woman, artist, and activist. Thank you Lucy. I love you.

Website: www.nikkimccauley.com www.weresosorryproductions.com

Instagram: artisjustyourheart

Image Credits
Jesse Saler – salerphotography.com — -the image with me and a puppet sitting next to me.. a still from a short film Adam Finnman & Becky Sapp- image with me and my writing partner, Cat Ventura, with cupcakes on our face