DETROIT, MI – Renowned street artist Nicky Nat is content these days. With wedding season kicking off across the Detroit metro area, more and more couples are being exposed to his work, with his many murals and displays throughout the Motor City becoming a favorite setting for wedding pictures.
“I certainly didn’t set out to do it, but it seems I’ve become ‘THE wedding painter,’” he said.
Although painting is Nat’s first love, he’s beginning to find joy in interacting with his many fans. “When I first started painting, I thought of it as a way to give back to a city that’s done so much for me. I saw so many vacant buildings and rampant blight. I felt I needed to do something, anything. I thought adding some artwork might brighten up someone’s day and give me a creative outlet. But now, it’s not about me. It’s not about depicting the struggle of the 313 and what this city’s been through. It’s about the women who grew up in Grosse Pointe. The ones who only make it down to ‘The D’ for a Tigers game once a year. That’s who I’m doing this for.”
“It’s really a labor of love,” Nat continued. “I just adore spending long hours huffing paint fumes and enduring back spasms so a future suburban housewife can show off her individuality and artistic taste. And if she’s making disparaging remarks about the crime rate of my hometown while doing it, all the better.”
The trend reached a new level this week when a local couple reportedly spent $80,000 on their wedding before posing for photographs in front of one of Nat’s murals depicting wealth inequality.
Nat said he was thrilled.
“I mean, what more could an artist ask for?” he said. “You spend months creating a piece about the obscene concentration of wealth in our society, and then a couple spends more money on one day than some people make in a year standing directly in front of it.”
To date, Nat has refused his many requests for commissioned work. Instead, he uses his popular blog to make a living and promote his impressive portfolio of street art. While all his pieces can be easily seen with a few clicks, it doesn’t compare to seeing his unique style in person.
“From time to time, I bring friends around to show them my latest creations,” Nat explained. “I brought fellow street artist Chamberz to see my favorite work to date. I call it ‘Mama,’ in honor of my late mother. As we pulled up in Corktown, I saw that a couple had altered the banner from ‘Laura Remembered’ to ‘Lauren & Mark’s Big Day!’ Chamberz was pissed, but I loved it.”
“She wasn’t that great of a mom anyway. She was never around because she had to work three jobs to help put me and my sister through school. And furthermore, what artist doesn’t like their work being touched up for someone who will bang her tennis instructor at the first sign of marital trouble?”
Despite his popularity, Nat is not without his detractors.
“One bride was quite critical of my use of color,” he said. “She said it muddled the overall message and felt derivative. And you know what? She was totally right. I mean, she has an art history degree from a liberal arts college and I’m a design school dropout. She would know better than me. I just hope I don’t disappoint her next time!”
