Nathaniel Milljour
Encyclopedia
Nathaniel Milljour is a self-taught Canadian Artist
, painter
and sculptor
. He splits his time between Alberta
, and British Columbia
, Canada
.
In 2007, he established a small studio gallery in downtown Calgary under the name 'Adore Designs Studio and Gallery'. In 2008 the physical store was closed and a new
company emerged online under the name 'Studio Noire' presumably due to Milljour's move to Vancouver
, British Columbia
, Canada
.
His fine art has been sold in galleries across Canada
and the United States
.
Recently, his artwork has been featured on numerous promotional materials and album artwork for musicians internationally.
His gig artwork is growing in demand and he focuses primarily on music industry clients. In his short time working in this genre of music "gig" art, he has
created promotional work for such varied genres as seasoned metal bands Exodus
of San Francisco, and Kreator
of Germany
, as well as gothic
icon and musician Voltaire
of New York
, and many others.
His artwork has been featured on subculture gig posters for nightclubs and events across Canada and the US, and he was recently one of the exhibited artists for the 'DECADEnce, a decade of gothic artwork' show in Vancouver
.
Milljour is also a constant contributor to charities and events, and was recently one of a hundred Canadian artists chosen to paint helmets in honor of Canadian soldiers
abroad. The helmets were auctioned off in November 2009 by the 'True Patriot Love Foundation', established by retired General Rick Hillier, to support Canadian military families in need. His work was entitled "We Stand on Guard for Thee". He was chosen again in 2010, this time sculpting a small scale model of the famous Canadian Pacific Railway
memorial from the Vancouver
Waterfront Station
for the auction.
In early 2009, Milljour donated a full scale painting to Vancouver's 'Red Galleria', "Paint Vancouver Red" charity auction to benefit the Vancouver Children's Hospital.
In late 2009, Milljour's painting "The Caterpillar" was featured in the Calgary Public Library
foundation Literary Awards charity auction“.
Milljour is often featured in numerous other charities and auctions contributing to the community. These range from benefits for animal foundations to raising money for the awareness of human trafficking.
, he mainly uses Chiaroscuro
, to create vivid Figurative
images with somewhat of a Gothic
, Erotic
, and often Fetish
flair.
Although usually focusing on his fine art in acrylic
and oil paint
, his newer works are becoming more and more digital, often using hand sketches digitally touched up.
His artwork was chosen in 2008 by Calgary Transit
for their urban renewal program, "Art in Motion" where local artists works were chosen to help decorate unsightly utility boxes in downtown Calgary
. His pieces, "Calgary in Green" and "Monoliths, both dark and foreboding surreal cityscapes of Calgary
were chosen, and can be seen in both Eau Claire and on Center Street. In the summer of 2010, he was again commissioned by Calgary Transit
for mural paintings on 16th Avenue North. Large scale pieces of his artwork can be seen on 16th Avenue and center street as well as decorating the walkway from 16th Avenue to SAIT Polytechnic.
His gig poster artwork is usually a staple in downtown Vancouver
, predominantly on the heavily postered Granville Street
.
Eros Zine online magazine, after his first solo exhibition entitled "Inamorata".
Roche described his artwork as "gorgeously goth-influenced".
-After being coupled with short story author Derek Cagemann for Murky Depths
Magazine of Great Britain
, Milljour received the following criticism by horror writer Daniel W. Powell:
"This story, coupled with Nathaniel Milljour's haunting artwork, stands as an excellent allegory on how dangerous it can be to devalue our basic sense of shared humanity."
card deck, featuring his artwork sometime in 2009.
Twenty two Flash animated cards of the Major Arcana featured on his site "StudioNoire.com", as well as an appearance of some of these cards in the Halloween issue of
"Oysters and Chocolate Magazine", Colorado
, backed up this claim, although no publisher has come forward with any information leaving speculation Milljour may be in the works of self-publishing the deck.
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
, painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
and sculptor
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
. He splits his time between Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
, and British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
In 2007, he established a small studio gallery in downtown Calgary under the name 'Adore Designs Studio and Gallery'. In 2008 the physical store was closed and a new
company emerged online under the name 'Studio Noire' presumably due to Milljour's move to Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
His fine art has been sold in galleries across Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Recently, his artwork has been featured on numerous promotional materials and album artwork for musicians internationally.
His gig artwork is growing in demand and he focuses primarily on music industry clients. In his short time working in this genre of music "gig" art, he has
created promotional work for such varied genres as seasoned metal bands Exodus
Exodus (band)
Exodus is an American thrash metal band formed in 1980 in Richmond, California. Spanning a career of over 30 years, Exodus has gone through numerous lineup changes, two extended hiatuses, and the deaths of two former band members. Guitarist Gary Holt remains the only constant member of the band,...
of San Francisco, and Kreator
Kreator
Kreator is a thrash metal band from Essen, Germany, formed in 1978, but formalized in 1982 under the name Tormentor. They originally performed a speed metal style with Venom influences. Their style of music is similar to their compatriots Destruction and Sodom, the other two big German thrash metal...
of Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, as well as gothic
icon and musician Voltaire
Voltaire (musician)
Voltaire , is a popular dark cabaret Cuban-American musician...
of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, and many others.
His artwork has been featured on subculture gig posters for nightclubs and events across Canada and the US, and he was recently one of the exhibited artists for the 'DECADEnce, a decade of gothic artwork' show in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
.
Milljour is also a constant contributor to charities and events, and was recently one of a hundred Canadian artists chosen to paint helmets in honor of Canadian soldiers
abroad. The helmets were auctioned off in November 2009 by the 'True Patriot Love Foundation', established by retired General Rick Hillier, to support Canadian military families in need. His work was entitled "We Stand on Guard for Thee". He was chosen again in 2010, this time sculpting a small scale model of the famous Canadian Pacific Railway
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
memorial from the Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
Waterfront Station
Waterfront Station (Vancouver)
Waterfront Station is a major intermodal public transportation facility and the main transit terminus in Downtown Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.-Location:...
for the auction.
In early 2009, Milljour donated a full scale painting to Vancouver's 'Red Galleria', "Paint Vancouver Red" charity auction to benefit the Vancouver Children's Hospital.
In late 2009, Milljour's painting "The Caterpillar" was featured in the Calgary Public Library
Calgary Public Library
The Calgary Public Library is a distributed library system featuring 17 branch locations including the Central Library. It is the second most used system in Canada...
foundation Literary Awards charity auction“.
Milljour is often featured in numerous other charities and auctions contributing to the community. These range from benefits for animal foundations to raising money for the awareness of human trafficking.
Style
Artwork ranges far and wide in subject matter, from traditional architecture, to figures of incredible emotion, depth and color. Often categorized into LowbrowLowbrow (art movement)
Lowbrow, or lowbrow art, describes an underground visual art movement that arose in the Los Angeles, California, area in the late 1970s. Lowbrow is a widespread populist art movement with origins in the underground comix world, punk music, hot-rod street culture, and other subcultures. It is also...
, he mainly uses Chiaroscuro
Chiaroscuro
Chiaroscuro in art is "an Italian term which literally means 'light-dark'. In paintings the description refers to clear tonal contrasts which are often used to suggest the volume and modelling of the subjects depicted"....
, to create vivid Figurative
Figurative art
Figurative art, sometimes written as figurativism, describes artwork—particularly paintings and sculptures—which are clearly derived from real object sources, and are therefore by definition representational.-Definition:...
images with somewhat of a Gothic
Goth subculture
The goth subculture is a contemporary subculture found in many countries. It began in England during the early 1980s in the gothic rock scene, an offshoot of the post-punk genre. The goth subculture has survived much longer than others of the same era, and has continued to diversify...
, Erotic
Erotica
Erotica are works of art, including literature, photography, film, sculpture and painting, that deal substantively with erotically stimulating or sexually arousing descriptions...
, and often Fetish
Sexual fetishism
Sexual fetishism, or erotic fetishism, is the sexual arousal a person receives from a physical object, or from a specific situation. The object or situation of interest is called the fetish, the person a fetishist who has a fetish for that object/situation. Sexual fetishism may be regarded, e.g...
flair.
Although usually focusing on his fine art in acrylic
Acrylic paint
Acrylic paint is fast drying paint containing pigment suspension in acrylic polymer emulsion. Acrylic paints can be diluted with water, but become water-resistant when dry...
and oil paint
Oil paint
Oil paint is a type of slow-drying paint that consists of particles of pigment suspended in a drying oil, commonly linseed oil. The viscosity of the paint may be modified by the addition of a solvent such as turpentine or white spirit, and varnish may be added to increase the glossiness of the...
, his newer works are becoming more and more digital, often using hand sketches digitally touched up.
His artwork was chosen in 2008 by Calgary Transit
Calgary Transit
Calgary Transit is the public transit service which is owned and operated by the city of Calgary, Alberta. In 2008, an estimated 95.3 million passengers boarded approximately 960 Calgary Transit vehicles , which thus provided 2.31 million hours of service .-History:What would eventually become...
for their urban renewal program, "Art in Motion" where local artists works were chosen to help decorate unsightly utility boxes in downtown Calgary
Calgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
. His pieces, "Calgary in Green" and "Monoliths, both dark and foreboding surreal cityscapes of Calgary
Calgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
were chosen, and can be seen in both Eau Claire and on Center Street. In the summer of 2010, he was again commissioned by Calgary Transit
Calgary Transit
Calgary Transit is the public transit service which is owned and operated by the city of Calgary, Alberta. In 2008, an estimated 95.3 million passengers boarded approximately 960 Calgary Transit vehicles , which thus provided 2.31 million hours of service .-History:What would eventually become...
for mural paintings on 16th Avenue North. Large scale pieces of his artwork can be seen on 16th Avenue and center street as well as decorating the walkway from 16th Avenue to SAIT Polytechnic.
His gig poster artwork is usually a staple in downtown Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, predominantly on the heavily postered Granville Street
Granville Street
Granville Street is a major street in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and part of Highway 99.-Location:Granville Street runs generally north-south through the centre of Vancouver, passing through several neighbourhoods and commercial areas, differing appreciably in their land value and the...
.
Criticism
-In December of 2007, Milljour was reviewed by Thomas Roche of New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
Eros Zine online magazine, after his first solo exhibition entitled "Inamorata".
Roche described his artwork as "gorgeously goth-influenced".
-After being coupled with short story author Derek Cagemann for Murky Depths
Murky Depths
Murky Depths bylined as "The Quarterly Anthology of Graphically Dark Speculative Fiction" is a British horror and science fiction magazine which began publishing in 2007. The magazine editor-in-chief is Terry Martin and the editor is Anne Stringer. The magazine is published four times a year. It...
Magazine of Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, Milljour received the following criticism by horror writer Daniel W. Powell:
"This story, coupled with Nathaniel Milljour's haunting artwork, stands as an excellent allegory on how dangerous it can be to devalue our basic sense of shared humanity."
Future Works
Milljour had stated on his personal site http://www.StudioNoire.com, that he intended to release a TarotTarot
The tarot |trionfi]] and later as tarocchi, tarock, and others) is a pack of cards , used from the mid-15th century in various parts of Europe to play a group of card games such as Italian tarocchini and French tarot...
card deck, featuring his artwork sometime in 2009.
Twenty two Flash animated cards of the Major Arcana featured on his site "StudioNoire.com", as well as an appearance of some of these cards in the Halloween issue of
"Oysters and Chocolate Magazine", Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, backed up this claim, although no publisher has come forward with any information leaving speculation Milljour may be in the works of self-publishing the deck.
External links
- Studio Noire Homepage of artist Nathaniel Milljour
- Gigposters.com Online Gig and Music Poster Collection of Nathaniel Milljour / Studio Noire
- Myspace Personal Myspace of Nathaniel Milljour
- Studio Noire Youtube Channel
- Horror Writer Daniel W. Powell Blog Online Review of Murky Depths Magazine
- Image of Milljour's Artwork in Downtown Calgary Calgary "Art in Motion" Urban Renewal Project
- DECADENCE A Decade of Gothic, Bohemian and Alternative Art
- Red Galleria, Vancouver Special Thanks to Contributing Artists to "Paint Vancouver Red" Auction for Vancouvers Children's Hospital
- Thomas Roche Interview with Nathaniel Milljour for Eros zine New York