In The Studio With Artist Nick Cane

Nick Cane is a graphic designer and father of two dogs. He’s currently living in Laurel, Maryland and creates text-based wall décor. His designs blend the aesthetics of modern graphic design and simple materials of felt and canvas. His designs are minimal and clean, but commissions take any form. He’s also freelances and creates digital art.

Here’s Nick talking about his art:

What art do you most identify with? My favorite art is typically more illustrative and detailed, which is the opposite of the art I make.

When did you realize you were an artist? Long before I realized anything else about myself. Kindergarten most likely, when I was drawing rather than paying attention. Since I would ask my mother check out how-to-draw books from the library. Since forever.

How did you get into your art/side-gig? Outside of my profession, the art I make and sell came to be because of the isolation of 2020. It started as me making things for our home. But, after a short while, I was giving them away and taking suggestions. Soon after that, I opened my Etsy shop.

What are you currently working on? I recently released eight new designs to be sold which I aimed to make even more streamlined than before. Some are simply text. However, they embody the simplicity I shoot for in most my work. I am also currently open for commission work, which can be anything from an inside joke or a nursery decoration. These are especially challenging and fun.

“The Cascade” by Nick Cane

6: What's your favorite piece of artwork that you have created and why? My favorite things I’ve made to date is probably the small banner titled “The Cascade.” It is simply a waterfall with the words Instagram Sucks on it. Simple idea, of course, but I love how the nature scene ended up looking. The cascade being both the literal waterfall and the endless feed of your Instagram. In the end, it’s a tongue-in-cheek way to basically suggest people put their phones down for even a second.

What food, drink, song inspires you? Music of all genres is a huge inspiration and too vast to pick just one. Typically, I will gravitate between things which are louder and more extreme, or things which are quieter and more introspective. Two songs I’ve been listening to a lot lately are “Into the North Woods” by Panopticon and “Cowboy Like Me” by Taylor Swift.

It also feels a bit trite to say coffee, but coffee.

What memorable responses have you had to your work? Every response is memorable. It’s what makes the whole thing worth it. Making a rendition of a specific place in nature for a customer’s sister or a portrait of Randy Johnson hitting a bird with a pitch. They all make someone somewhere happy.

What work do you most enjoy creating? The work I make for myself all uses language and words as art. When the combination of word and image make something more, I’m really happy. It all seems really simple, but there is a good deal of editing and discarding that comes with the process.

What’s your favorite quote? The Man in the Arena by Theodore Roosevelt

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."

What role does the artist have in society? The artist should be someone who shows another person thoughts they didn’t know they had. Something that maybe they noticed or saw, and filed it away to subconscious, only to be unearthed and shown anew.

What’s your dream job? A National Park Ranger, immersed in the simplicity and beauty of nature.

Why art? Because art is something that people need. It’s a societal necessity, and art can take many forms. Musicians, cooks, builders. Art is everywhere and those who are fortunate enough to be able to create, should.

For more information about Nick and to view his artwork, check him out on Instagram @forum_of_goods or his Etsy shop at Forum of Goods.