Nissa Vrooman owes her artistic career to her son, Kyah, who is now 11 and the eldest of her two boys. When Kyah was in preschool, he loved to draw. “He would start a drawing, and I would finish it,” Vrooman remembers. “We made these quirky, colorful monsters together.” What she calls “a whimsical and sometimes humorous series of paintings depicting animals” evolved out of this time.
The collaboration revved a long-dormant love of the visual arts that, a relatively short time later, produced a body of striking, appealingly enigmatic work — beckoning the viewer with both its introspective aura and its technical precision. “I’d define my work as contemporary magical realism,” says Vrooman.
Her affinity for making art could hardly have been otherwise, however subdued it became until the renewal sparked by her son. Her family’s artistic tree features branches in ceramics, interior and fashion design, and the exclusive jewelry made by her husband David. Vrooman’s formal training was limited to two college classes in painting and figure drawing, taken while she pursued a degree in comparative religion. “My training as a painter has always been self-guided,” she says. “Over the years, I dabbled in collage and graphic design, jewelry making and ceramics.” But the inspiration to take up paintbrushes again languished while Vrooman traveled and, 16 years ago, met and married David. Fifteen years ago, they moved to Asheville and, eventually, had Kyah and his little brother Leo.
Her collaborative drawings remained an amusing pastime as the couple raised their sons. But a few years ago, painting returned to the forefront. “Living [here], where the creativity and art are so rich and alive, has helped me to embrace my own artistic talents,” Vrooman says. It helped, too, that her father and her husband were both self-taught career artists. This, she adds, “[gave] me the confidence to pursue my artistic passions.”
Another boost: her style fits in well with the area’s rising population of Mountain Modern architecture aficionados. “I’d say my clients are eclectic collectors,” she says. “Their homes tend to be contemporary, but are peppered with sentimental objects and works of art that vary widely in style. I have been commissioned to make paintings for specific rooms for people, but for the most part, clients connect with the theme of the painting for personal reasons and just have to have it.”
Vrooman’s works in acrylics, charcoal, and graphite are highly personal and metaphysical explorations, perhaps reflecting the emphasis on mysticism and Buddhism she encountered in her comparative-religion studies. “I rarely have an entire painting planned,” Vrooman reveals. “Instead, I usually start with an element, a subject that sparks my imagination. Once that primary subject has been sketched, I let it sit for while until I know what theme I want to explore. I pose the question, ‘What does this painting want to convey? What’s the narrative?’ Then I wait and see what messages I get back.” The messages might come from anywhere, she says — a dream, a passage in a book, a bit of conversation. “Inspiration is mysterious,” she muses. “It seems to have its own agenda.”
Much of her work, though, centers on the female figure. “I live in a house with my husband and two sons, so I’m surrounded by masculinity much of the time,” Vrooman explains. “The expression of femininity through my art has proven to be extremely nourishing to me, kind of an exploration of the feminine heart in metaphor. Each of the paintings from this series is metaphorically related to a theme unfolding in my life.” One of her earliest works, Grace, depicts a young girl floating off of a chair. Painted just after Vrooman made the decision to pursue her art full time, it became a visual statement of her hopes. A later work, She Knew She Was Home, was a kind of bookend to the earlier work, inspired by her first significant sale.
Her canvases have a translucent quality she produces by layering color directly onto the surface, complemented with the application of a glazing medium. Shades of blue figure prominently. “I use it to help create a contemplative and serene atmosphere where the viewer can absorb the symbolism of the painting,” Vrooman says. Sanding down a work’s top layers of paint, allowing the underpainting to show, adds depth to the composition.
A series featuring animal figures is a nod to the playful drawings that foretold the career to come. “I still have a lot of fun painting this series,” Vrooman says. “It’s like returning to the magic and innocence of childhood.” Indeed, a childlike curiosity is how she remains open to the world — and to the layers of meaning waiting to be discovered in a new project. “At some point in the process, a moment arrives where the answer or inspiration appears,” Vrooman says. “A story unfolds, and the painting reveals itself to me.”
Examples of Nissa Vrooman’s art can be viewed at nissavrooman.com. Visitors are also welcome at Vrooman’s Asheville studio by appointment: 828-707-7367.