inktober tomorrow

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My favorite time of year has begun – fall, halloween, diwali, cold weather cooking and cuddles! And tomorrow is the start of inktober! These are some of my favorites from last year. I’m super excited to participate as I need a break from inking Jukebox. I am going to explore a bit more color this year.

I will post each drawing here but it will only be available for sale (first come, first serve) on instagram so please follow me there if you’re interested.

I hope you have a wonderful Monday.

coloring for charity

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I’m happy to share a new coloring book put together by the SF Etsy community. Over 40 local artists donated pages to the book to raise funds for 3 charities – SF Safe House, Larkin Street Youth and SF Fire Toys program. I donated the page above and there are some more samples below.

Pre-order for $12 today and thank you for your support.

I hope you have a lovely week!

polar plunge

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back to school is hard

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It’s hard on everyone.

We’re still in the thick of it and hoping the weekend will help us reset. I hope you have a good one!

a fierce thanks

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Thank you to the folks who’ve sent me messages and shared I will be Fierce with kids. Illustrating this book was a huge challenge as the text is powerful but not clearly visual. I revised sketches many times in order to match Bea Birdsong’s words with a strong visual story about a girl facing the challenges of her day. The positive response makes it worth it!

Here are some interior spreads – the librarian is based off my kid’s favorite story time librarian!

Thank you and I hope you have a lovely week!

deep purple

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kind dreams

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As an independent artist I spend a lot of time alone with my thoughts. I didn’t grow up with abundance, quite the contrary, and had an early distaste for our capitalist fascination with stuff. As I grow in my awareness and think about my footprint, I started to think about reaching for our dreams.

Our conversations about pursuing dreams often center around achieving a rich life. Not a life of balance or meaning (which isn’t to say that pursuing dreams must be imbalanced or devoid of meaning). I find meaning and happiness in my work. Balance has yet to come! But recently I thought about how we’re encouraged to dream BIG and BOLD. But… what if we were encouraged to dream KIND? To expand our personal dreams to be more? What if our dreams of success were for more than our individual selves. To decentralize the self and instead think of our dreams as ones that include others – to lift each other up and share visions of a beautiful, loving world.

Wouldn’t that be a wonderful new way to dream?

last weekend at Disney!

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Bambi (sold)

Alice and the Cheshire cat (available)

My watercolors are being framed and unsold pieces are available through Wonderground Gallery. I finished Alice this weekend and had a lovely time talking to kids and adults about the circuitous path to becoming a professional artist. It’s been a whirlwind month of travel and barely any time off. Even though I’m tired, my time at Disney is always refreshing – talking to folks who love and appreciate art is simply the best. I feel fortunate to share that love with so many kind people.

My residency ends this weekend! I will paint my most ambitious piece – Moana and Maui! I hope to see you on my final weekend there!

Have a lovely week!

boo & sully

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I loved this sketch and the finished piece is hard to part with! It’s available now either through Wonderground Gallery directly or WonderGround Gallery can take orders via email at merchandise.guest.services@disneyparks.com or by telephone at 877-560-6477.  Let mail order know that you’re interested in the Nidhi Chanani artwork from WonderGround Gallery West and they tell you if it’s currently available.

I’ll be back this weekend on Saturday from 5-9pm and Sunday from 4-7pm.

I hope to see you there!

p.s. I’m very enraged about the current immigrant imprisonment. I’m matching donation up to $500 on twitter. Donating is the only thing I can do right now but I MUST do something. Join me?

seattle tomorrow!

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I will be speaking and signing books in Seattle tomorrow at Third Place Books in Seward Park. I hope to see you there!

Also I’ll be back at Disney this weekend for more live watercoloring and the release of my new Disney piece! If you’re interested in the original of my first watercolor of Baby Dory or the new Disney print please contact WonderGround Gallery. They can take orders via email at merchandise.guest.services@disneyparks.com or by telephone at 877-560-6477.  Just let Mail Order know that they are interested in the Nidhi Chanani artwork from WonderGround Gallery West and they would be happy to let them know if it’s currently available.

Hope to see you in Seattle or Anaheim!