{"id":4016,"date":"2022-09-28T20:04:13","date_gmt":"2022-09-29T03:04:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chiccompass.com\/?p=4016"},"modified":"2026-08-30T21:31:49","modified_gmt":"2026-08-31T04:31:49","slug":"the-art-of-niki-j-sands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chiccompass.com\/wordpress\/the-art-of-niki-j-sands\/","title":{"rendered":"The Art of Niki J Sands"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Chic<\/span><\/div>
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This article was printed in<\/em>
\nChic Compass Magazine - Issue 12<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>

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\"Niki<\/span><\/div><\/div>

Photo of Niki by Flo Li, Del Mar, California<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>

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A Show of Sands! Appreciating The Art of Niki J Sands<\/h1>\n

BY STACEY GUALANDI<\/p>\n<\/div>

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When self-taught painter Niki J Sands first put oil to canvas in the mid-90s, she was ready to give up. \u201cI took the painting and said, \u2018Oh God, that is just awful,\u2019 admits Sands. \u201cSo, I rolled it up and threw it in the garbage.\u201d<\/p>\n

Had she not changed her mind and kept that original crumpled portrait, she might have thrown away an entire career. (\u201cI realized it wasn\u2019t thaaaaat bad.\u201d)<\/p>\n

Since then, this former Detroit dental office manager has made a name for herself as a successful Las Vegas-based contemporary artist. Her figurative style is equal parts surrealism and cubism, with a hint of the abstract.<\/p>\n

As a young girl, Niki always loved sketching her dad. \u201cI love looking at people\u2019s faces,\u201d and she says she especially loved drawing people\u2019s hands\u2014one of the more challenging parts of the human form.<\/p>\n

While painting came later in life, she now receives numerous commissions and charity donation requests, and her pieces are often on display at local events, art festivals, and restaurants around the country.<\/p>\n

In fact, for the past five years, a rotating collection of her artwork hangs inside the Vegas Valley Winery, Clark County, Nevada\u2019s only wine tasting room.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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\"Fish<\/span><\/div><\/div>

Fish Heads II by Niki Sands, Oil on Canvas<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>

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Owner Patty Peters wanted to highlight a local artist, and she has known (and bought) Niki\u2019s work forever. Now she plans to hold a show in early 2023 featuring who else? Niki Sands.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s all about the colors,\u201d says Peters. \u201cEverything about her screams art. You think you\u2019ve got her down, and she comes up with a new idea, a new way of painting. It blows your socks off.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWith a mutual fondness for wine (and our Detroit roots), what better place than a tasting room for Niki and me to grab a glass of wine and gab about her career, her process, and how you can now \u201cwear\u201d a Niki J Sands original.\u201d<\/p>\n

CHIC COMPASS: How did your career as an artist first get off the ground?<\/p>\n

NIKI J SANDS: I moved from Michigan to Las Vegas and would spend all my time at the Sahara West Library, where there is a beautiful museum, and I pored over art books. They were having their Spring art exhibits for local people, and when my older sister came out to visit, she saw my crumpled painting\u2026<\/p>\n

CHIC: \u2026the one from the trash?<\/p>\n<\/div>

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\"1st<\/span><\/div><\/div>

1st Painting - This is the very first painting that Niki ever created. She crumpled it up and threw it away before changing her mind and keeping it.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>

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NIKI: Yes, and she said, \u201cOh, I love this! We\u2019re gonna submit it to this art exhibit!\u201d And I said, \u201cNo, we\u2019re not!\u201d And she says, \u201cYeah, we are.\u201d And sure enough, it got into the exhibit! I still have the painting.<\/p>\n

CHIC: How did your work progress after that?<\/p>\n

NIKI: I made my daughter a painting, and her boss saw it and said, \u201cOh God, you think your mom can paint me a Viking? I\u2019ll pay her!\u201d Then my daughter\u2019s high school was doing a Shakespeare play, and they needed a painting of a queen, and I said I\u2019ll do that and gave it to the school. So basically, it started with me giving things away. Haha.<\/p>\n

CHIC: When did you finally start earning money for your art?<\/p>\n

NIKI: I sold on eBay, and I would sell to people all over the world. It wasn\u2019t a lot of money, but I would do a small painting and sell it. And one of my eBay customers was from Canada. When I told him I was doing my first show, he sent this gorgeous bouquet of flowers. I thought, \u201cOh my God, this is so crazy,\u201d to have a guy from Canada who I\u2019ve never met in my life take to my work and buy a lot of it. In fact, he has some of my very first pieces, so that\u2019s nice.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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\"Poetic<\/span><\/div><\/div>

Poetic Garden by Niki Sands<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>

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CHIC: How has your work evolved?<\/p>\n

NIKI: There were a lot more faces in the beginning, what I called \u201clonely figures.\u201d They were just the backs of women. I did a lot of that. Maybe it was subconsciously me because I was feeling alone. I had lost my parents and moved away from my whole family. I did not have a plan, and people thought I went a little cuckoo \u2026 ha! I was just divorced and had a young daughter. It was a very challenging time.<\/p>\n

CHIC: What is your process?<\/p>\n

NIKI: Well, when I\u2019m doing work just to do work, it\u2019s very intuitive. A lot of it has to do with what\u2019s going on in my world and our crazy world. I\u2019m constantly experimenting still. I\u2019m now working with mixed media and a cold wax method. To grow as an artist, you need to pull out of your comfort zone. My comfort zone is just being in my studio by myself with a glass of wine \u2026 ha!<\/p>\n

CHIC: What or who inspires you?<\/p>\n

NIKI: My Greek godmother Nouna was a heavy-set woman with black hair who became my muse. All of my characters have a similar look to them. [Also] I love animals. My mom took me to Greece when I was 11, and seeing all the statues, the ancient art, the drawings, the paintings, and all of that, I was in heaven. When I was young, I wanted to be a marine biologist. I love the ocean and all that, so I\u2019ve been drawn to nature very much all my life.<\/p>\n

CHIC: How much of your work is about nature?<\/p>\n

NIKI: I do a lot of the fish things. And I put a lot of rabbits in my work because my mom taught me how to draw them. That was the only thing she knew how to draw!<\/p>\n<\/div>

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\"Desert<\/span><\/div><\/div>

Desert Queen - Oil on Canvas<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>

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CHIC: What sets you apart as an artist?<\/p>\n

NIKI: I think my art connects with people. Certain things speak to people, and they have an emotional connection to them.<\/p>\n

CHIC: Where else can we see your work?<\/p>\n

NIKI: My friend\u2019s son, Nino Cutraro, lives in California, and he makes clothing (deflorencio.com) with my paintings on it. He does all the sewing! I\u2019ve known him since he was born. He said, \u201cI really like your work,\u201d and I said, \u201cI\u2019m gonna give you whatever you want, and when you make it big, you can take care of your Auntie!\u201d Haha!!<\/p>\n<\/div>

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\"Fashion<\/span><\/div><\/div>

Fashion by Nino Cutraro, Artwork by Niki Sands<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>

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CHIC: How would you like to be known?<\/p>\n

NIKI: Just as a person who loves to create. If you connect with my work and feel like you\u2019ll have it for the rest of your life and pass it on to your kids, I find that touches my heart.<\/p>\n

CHIC: Thank you, Niki! I think we are all grateful you didn\u2019t take out the trash years ago. :)<\/p>\n

Visit Niki's website at: nikijsands.com<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>

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\"Photo<\/span><\/div><\/div>

Photo of Niki by Flo Li, Del Mar, California<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>

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\"Fish<\/span><\/div><\/div>

Fish Heads, Oil on Canvas<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

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When self-taught painter Niki J Sands first put oil to canvas in the mid-90s, she was ready to give up. \u201cI took the painting and said, \u2018Oh God, that is just awful,\u2019 admits Sands. \u201cSo, I rolled it up and threw it in the garbage.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4023,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4522,3819],"tags":[1026,2831,3346,3128],"class_list":["post-4016","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-and-culture","category-issue-12","tag-art","tag-artist","tag-niki-j-sands","tag-stacey-gualandi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chiccompass.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4016","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chiccompass.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chiccompass.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chiccompass.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chiccompass.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4016"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/chiccompass.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4016\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4025,"href":"https:\/\/chiccompass.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4016\/revisions\/4025"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chiccompass.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4023"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chiccompass.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4016"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chiccompass.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4016"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chiccompass.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4016"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}