Nicole is an emerging artist to keep your eye on.

Born in Boston, MA, Nicole started producing art early in her childhood. Although her family had little money, their love and generosity was boundless. Even through a brief period of being homeless, there was continued support for Nicole's creativity. She was encouraged to color and paint with her younger sister, Danielle. Together they constructed wild puppets, painted scenery and crazy costumes. They would imagine, and then work to make their ideas come alive. It never felt like poverty to Nicole.  

Her father Joseph Charbonneau, an artist and cartoonist, taught her how to view and draw the world around her. Growing up mainly on Cape Cod, Nicole's early works were inspired by nature. She was eleven years old when the first of her paintings, an untitled winter scene (a watercolor) was on display at the Woods Hole Gallery.  

As a teenager, she explored an interest in textiles, as well as dabbled in some photography and video, but always kept painting. For her senior thesis in high school, inspired by the works of Diego Rivera, she painted a 20' X 15' wall mural depicting the struggle of the working class and celebrating the spirit and heritage of Mexican culture.  

She fell in love with the theatre and went on to study Performing Arts at Emerson College in Boston. Inspired by the work of Julie Taymor, she strived to express herself through performance as well as the visual arts and theatre design. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1999.   

Soon after graduation, Nicole moved to Los Angeles. In 2000, she was brought on as co-artistic director for the Eighth Square Theatre Company's production of Alice in Wonderland. Inspired by the bizarre Hollywood scene, she designed and constructed flamingo puppets, a dancing Cheshire Cat, paper mache dell-arte masks, and set pieces for this glamorous and unique show at the Gardner Stages in Hollywood.  

In 2001, she served as Art Director for The Brimmer Street Group's production of Our Country's Good at the Stella Adler Theatre, using shadow puppets and panel paintings inspired by Aboriginal myths to create the Australian environment.  

Later that same year, she designed the man-eating plants for Red Bannister Productions' version of the musical Little Shop of Horrors at the Whitmore-Lindley Theatre in North Hollywood.  

Her favorite artists are Frida Kahlo, Salvador Dali, David Lynch, and William Kentridge. She is drawn to surrealism and is a big fan of Dadaism and absurdism, and it shows in aspects of her work. Certain pieces are recognizably inspired by television and film, while others originate from her imagination and dreams.

You can contact Nicole Charbonneau at: nicole@mightymcpilgrim.com. Nicole Charbonneau's artworks can be viewed and purchased from the following online locations: www.nicolecharbonneau.com