{"id":23380,"date":"2018-01-10T07:00:16","date_gmt":"2018-01-10T15:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=23380"},"modified":"2018-11-11T22:13:19","modified_gmt":"2018-11-12T06:13:19","slug":"drawn-to-high-places-mountain-artist-nikki-frumkin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/hike\/drawn-to-high-places-mountain-artist-nikki-frumkin","title":{"rendered":"Drawn To High Places: Mountain Artist Nikki Frumkin"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nikki Frumkin is easy to recognize in the mountains. She\u2019s the lanky blonde with a giant piece of watercolor paper strapped to her backpack. When she reaches the summit, she takes out a handful of brushes and breath-mint tin full of paint<\/a>, finds a comfortable rock to sit on, and starts painting furiously. In homage to her family\u2019s European roots, she often packs a baguette instead of a protein bar.<\/p>\n

The Seattle-based alpinist knew from a young age that she wanted to make art. \u201cI was always that kid with a pencil in my hand,\u201d she remembers. \u201cWhen I was growing up in New Rochelle, N.Y., my earliest memories were of drawing birthday and Christmas cards. In high school, I would try to skip every class so I could go spend time in the studio.\u201d<\/p>\n

At 18, Frumkin enrolled in the State University of New York at New Paltz, in the Hudson River Valley. At college, she initially drew nudes, and at home, \u201cpiles of animals\u2014stacks of puppies, puddles of kittens,\u201d that her family fostered as part of a volunteer rescue organization.<\/p>\n

\"Nikki

In July 2017, Nikki climbed Glacier Peak, one of the five volcanoes in Washington. \u201cThe clouds obscured Glacier Peak almost the whole time, but they broke long enough for me to paint the volcano. The following day we summited,\u201d she says.<\/p><\/div>\n

Soon, though, her instructors encouraged her to experiment with en plein air\u2014<\/em>\u201cin fresh air\u201d\u2014the outdoor painting method that arose in popularity alongside field easels during the 19th<\/sup> century and persists to this day.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a long tradition of outdoor painting in the Hudson River Valley,\u201d she says, nearly understating things. The region\u2014specifically, the Hudson River School art movement\u2014is iconic in American art and integral to pushing the outdoor method forward. \u201cI wasn\u2019t climbing yet, but those lessons had a huge influence on me, even back then. I liked how I was forced to paint quickly, get creative with my tools, and take risks.\u201d<\/p>\n

After graduating in 2012 with two bachelor\u2019s degrees\u2014one in art education and one in fine arts in painting\u2014Nikki migrated to the West Coast to teach preschool in Seattle. \u201cI love teaching. The philosophy of the preschool where I taught was, \u2018Nothing without joy,\u2019 and I kept thinking: Why don\u2019t we all live like this? They really encouraged students to learn through play, so that mindset was on my mind when I eventually started climbing in the Cascades, too. Because what is climbing, if not learning through play?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Glacier

\u201cPainting from high camp of Glacier Peak was one of my favorite mountain painting experiences. When we arrived at camp, the sky finally opened up to expose Glacier. I began painting to capture the energy of the weather swirling around us. As it got dark, I thought about how far away the mountain looked and how we would cross glaciers to go up the following day,\u201d Nikki recalls. (Photo Credit: Karen Wang)<\/p><\/div>\n

She pauses.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like that with painting, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

After settling into Seattle, Nikki started bouldering. She met her boyfriend Shawn, who introduced her to mountaineering. Quickly realizing there\u2019s a lot of downtime at camp, she started bringing a pencil and notebook to document their shared adventures. She then progressed to watercolors, ink and large sheets of paper that got larger by the trip. She started selling her work, which bought her more time to focus on her technique, craft and artistic vision. She learned more about climbing. She sold more work.<\/p>\n

\"Forbidden

A watercolor and ink painting by Nikki of Forbidden Peak in the North Cascades. (Photo Credit: Nikki Frumkin)<\/p><\/div>\n

In 2016, she switched to teaching part-time, and by July 2017, she quit teaching altogether to become a full-time artist. \u201cGoing full-time freelance is terrifying,\u201d she says. \u201cBut I\u2019ve been so lucky to have a community that supports me in every way.\u201d Now she paints outdoors year-round, mixing her paint with cheap vodka in the winter to keep it from freezing.<\/p>\n

Nikki also cheerfully acknowledges the influence of generations of previous artists on her work. \u201cJeremy Collins<\/a> was hugely inspiring for me as a young painter,\u201d Nikki says. \u201cHe has made it clear that art can tell an important story and that it can change lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

For inspiration, she looks to artists like Renan Ozturk<\/a>, Peter Doig<\/a>, Lindsey Fox<\/a>, Rachel Pohl<\/a> and Sarah Uhl<\/a>. \u201cSocial media has been really important for our generation of artists,\u201d she says. \u201cInstagram in particular has let outdoorspeople connect and share enthusiasm about our experience in a whole new way. We all love art, we all love the mountains, we all seek out suffering and beauty and landscape and joy. Art is way of figuring out how all of those experiences come together.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"alpenglow

\u201cWe get the most beautiful sunsets and sunrises here in Washington. Those are my favorite times of day to paint,\u201d Nikki says. (Photo Credit: Nikki Frumkin)<\/p><\/div>\n

Nikki\u2019s dedication is paying off: She\u2019s expanding her editorial portfolio<\/a>, looking forward to a solo exhibition in Seattle<\/a> and has surpassed 43,000 followers on Instagram<\/a>. She teaches workshops, both online and in person. Her artwork can be found on chalk bags, backpacks, wallets and insoles. By all imaginable metrics, she\u2019s crushing it.<\/p>\n

\u201cNikki\u2019s success isn\u2019t because of luck\u2014it\u2019s due to talent, discipline and consistent hard work,\u201d says Claire Giordano<\/a>, a fellow Seattle-based mountain artist. \u201cShe\u2019s one of those people who is always dreaming up some huge new ambitious project. Right now, for example, she\u2019s working on a gigantic painting for a gallery show. It\u2019s literally as big as my bed! She knows what she wants to achieve, and she\u2019s working hard to get there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Frumkin embraces the challenge of building a career and evolving as an artist, in that in teaches her \u201cboth about art and about climbing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Nikki

In the summer of 2017, Nikki and her sister climbed Eldorado Peak in the North Cascades. \u201cIt was so beautiful on the summit we decided to stay through sunset. We perched on top, admiring the awe-inspiring sunset and the endless mountains,\u201d Nikki says. (Photo Credit: Nikki Frumkin)<\/p><\/div>\n

And indeed it\u2019s both\u2014her pursuit of painting outdoors back in New York, her ascent of boulders and mountains in Seattle\u2014each a testament to maybe her purest ambition: getting outside.<\/p>\n<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nikki Frumkin is easy to recognize in the mountains. She\u2019s the lanky blonde with a giant piece of watercolor paper strapped to her backpack. When she reaches the summit, she takes out a handful of brushes and breath-mint tin full of paint, finds a comfortable rock to sit on, and starts painting furiously. In homage […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":23381,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,387],"tags":[681,734,288,726,707],"internal-tag":[1679,1678],"class_list":["post-23380","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-climb","category-hike","tag-art","tag-climbing","tag-featured","tag-force-of-nature","tag-hiking","internal-tag-pre-redirect-climbing","internal-tag-pre-redirect-hiking"],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/rei.com\/blog\/hike\/drawn-to-high-places-mountain-artist-nikki-frumkin","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Drawn To High Places: Mountain Artist Nikki Frumkin","url":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/hike\/drawn-to-high-places-mountain-artist-nikki-frumkin","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/hike\/drawn-to-high-places-mountain-artist-nikki-frumkin"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/01\/Enchantments-NIkki-Frumkin.jpg?resize=150%2C150","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/01\/Enchantments-NIkki-Frumkin.jpg?fit=1541%2C959"},"articleSection":"Climb","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Michelle Flandreau"}],"creator":["Michelle Flandreau"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Uncommon Path \u2013 An REI Co-op Publication","logo":""},"keywords":["art","climbing","featured","force of nature","hiking"],"dateCreated":"2018-01-10T15:00:16Z","datePublished":"2018-01-10T15:00:16Z","dateModified":"2018-11-12T06:13:19Z"},"rendered":"