I see everything within the context of art. It’s a complete way of living… a way of seeing life at all times. I just have to do it or I can’t breathe.

The greatest influences on me and therefore my work are music and fashion. I like extremes….extremely amped up or extremely quiet. Haute Couture, old jeans, rock, hip-hop or Italian opera …it all connects me to my art in raw and wild ways. Creating work within both genres makes for a vipity life, indeed.

Niris

Niris Iris

Is she a Californian, New Yorker or Floridian? Only her hairdresser knows for sure and since she cuts her own hair you’ll have to ask her. At 53, Niris moved from California to Florida. She will tell you it’s been one wild ride. “I live at the edge of the village” is what she will tell you about her day- to- day life. “People are always waiting for me to come to my senses. I wonder why? I’m not waiting for them to do the same. I consider myself traditionally bohemian. There is always someone like me running around. It gives people something to complain about” she laughs.

The concept of EXTREME PORTRAITS came from her desire to carry on the time-honored tradition of portraiture. She has been painting “personalities” since 1991. She is also deeply involved in the tradition of stone carving and works, primarily, with a hammer and chisel.

Niris has worked in creative fields her entire life. Careers in food and fashion were a natural progression into the arts. Plus, she likes it the best. She has studied everywhere from the streets, symposia, schools and under the guidance of some pretty amazing mentors. She will tell you she is outsider artist who came inside. Over the years she has been a self-taught artist, a student, a teacher, consultant, single parent to her beloved son Dylan James, and an accident survivor.

At times she is conflicted over revealing her “disabled” self. “I am artist who has disabilities. To translate that means I have serious challenges. People don‘t want to hear about anybody’s cold let alone the problems the disabled are having. It bores them. Hell, it bores me… but this website came to life by my efforts to lead a self-sufficient and accomplished life while being disabled. I must acknowledge this for every other disabled person struggling to work...whatever that means to him or to her. Earning an honest living is our right. To those of you who are in deep doo doo...don‘t let anybody tell you that you cannot work. Maybe you can’t but MAYBE YOU CAN! If you have the strength, I suggest you forge ahead and take action.”

Niris’ artistic experiences and resume span two decades. She started Niris Studio, a fine art resource, for designers, architects and private clientele. “Over the years I created an extensive collection of artwork. The response has been remarkable,” she says of her decision to open Niris Studio. “ I want clients to have unique choices in a pressure free environment. It’s relaxing at the studio and I bake for visitors.” There is a wide range of art to pick from. Classical or edgy the variety is vast.

Innovation ~ Trend ~ Tradition…it’s all part of her sincere desire to offer each person “ A Personal Experience With Fine Art”.

“...The challenge is to make Tradition a living thing; a living language that draws in inspiration like a great tree, from subterranean unseen roots, but which is nevertheless rendered contemporary in each generation. Tradition is not a dead thing’ it is, in fact, the only means by which we can experience a sense of belonging and meaning within a rapidly changing world. It is, ultimately, the only way of making sense of the past and the future through their subtle reconciliation in a kind of eternal present.”

Prince Charles, in Ode (October 2003)