Drawings
Nicole Ouellette Drawings pencil on paper
Sergei Filin (dark)
2013
pencil on paper
9" X12"

From Attack on Beauty
Sergei Filin Artistic Director of the Bolshoi Ballet attacked with acid and nearly blinded.

Nicole Ouellette Drawings Ink on paper
I was afraid not to measure up.
May 31, 2010
Ink on paper
26" X 30"

Citation: Robert Mapplethorpe photograph of Louise Bourgeois, 1982, holding her sculpture "Fillette".

"I was afraid not to measure up". Taken out of context from Louise Bourgeois's MacDowell Medal Acceptance speech in 1990.

When flipping through a book, I saw Robert Mapplethorpe's photograph of Louise Bourgeois in her fuzzy coat holding her sculpture Fillette. I did a drawing referring to the photograph on the day of her death, although I did not know that at the time.

Upon receiving the MacDowell Medal, Louise (speaking about motherhood/family- which she warned me about) said "I was afraid not to measure up". I too am afraid. Afraid I will die before creating my masterpiece, afraid noone will see it or remember it. Afraid to fail to get my own images down; they are too often transmuted.

I was feeling very connected to Louise and grateful to have some of her artwork that day, the day she died. She gave me a gift when I left New York, because she thought I was making a mistake. I was fortunate to work on her prints at Harlan and Weaver Intaglio.
Nicole Ouellette Drawings Ink on paper
#20 Mantle
2012
Ink on paper
22 1/2" X 29 3/4"

Fuzzy coat
To take up the Mantle

I too have a fuzzy coat, which is fake and from Ann Taylor. The coat reminds me of my grandmother and makes me feel so French. I drew my own fuzzy coat from observation to understand the form and experiment with textural marks. This fuzzy coat embodies the idea of taking up the mantle.
Nicole Ouellette Drawings Pencil on paper
#19 Mantle
2012
Pencil on paper
18" X 24"

Fuzzy coat on table easel
Nicole Ouellette Drawings Ink and watercolor on paper
#32 Albatross around my neck
2012
Ink and watercolor on paper
22" X 30"

The albatross around my neck is wrapped like a mantle. It hangs around my invisible body. I am trying to take up the mantle.
Nicole Ouellette Drawings Ink and oil paint on paper
The sea and the sky (after Gabriel Garcia Marquez's A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings)
2009
Ink and oil paint on paper
9 1/8"X 5 1/2"
Nicole Ouellette Drawings Ink and watercolor with collage on paper
Crow Collects Shiny Things
2011
Ink and watercolor with collage on paper
22.5" X 30.5"
Nicole Ouellette Drawings Ink on paper
"Crow" Collects Shiny Things
2011
Ink on paper
39 3/4" X 37"

From the 40 self-portraits project
Nicole Ouellette Drawings Gouache and watercolor on paper
Pink Ribbons
2013
Gouache and watercolor on paper
7" X 10 1/4"
Nicole Ouellette Drawings Watercolor on paper
Open a Can of Worms
2013
Watercolor on paper
15 1/2 X 20"
Nicole Ouellette Drawings Ink on paper
Curtains
Ink on paper
5" X 6"
Nicole Ouellette Drawings Ink on paper
Spilled Guts
Ink on paper
5" X 6"
Nicole Ouellette Drawings Ink on paper
Suicide Machine
Ink on paper
8" X 7 1/8"
Nicole Ouellette Drawings Ink on paper
Sewing Machine
Ink on paper
8" X 7 1/8"
Nicole Ouellette Drawings Ink on paper
Cleaning the Floor
Ink on paper
8" X 7"
Nicole Ouellette Drawings Ink on paper
Reading the Paper
Ink on paper
7 3/4" X 7"