Nathaniel Milljour

Nathaniel Milljour
Nationality	Canadian
Field	Painting, Drawing, Sculpture
Movement	Figurative art, Lowbrow (art movement), gothic Nathaniel Milljour

Nathaniel Milljour is a self-taught Canadian Artist, painter and sculptor. He splits his time between Alberta, and British Columbia, Canada.

In 2007, he established a small studio gallery in downtown Calgary under the name 'Adore Designs Studio and Gallery'. In 2008 the physical store was closed and a new company emerged online under the name 'Studio Noire' presumably due to Milljour's move to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. His fine art has been sold in galleries across Canada and the United States.

Recently, his artwork has been featured on numerous promotional materials and album artwork for musicians internationally. His gig artwork is growing in demand and he focuses primarily on music industry clients. In his short time working in this genre of music "gig" art, he has created promotional work for such varied genres as seasoned metal bands Exodus of San Francisco, and Kreator of Germany, as well as gothic icon and musician Voltaire of New York, and many others. His artwork has been featured on subculture gig posters for nightclubs and events across Canada and the US, and he was recently one of the exhibited artists for the 'DECADEnce, a decade of gothic artwork' show in Vancouver.

Studio Noire Logo as of 2009

Studio Noire Poster for the Voltaire Vancouver Show 2009

Milljour is also a constant contributor to charities and events, and was recently one of a hundred Canadian artists chosen to paint helmets in honor of Canadian soldiers abroad. The helmets were auctioned off in November 2009 by the 'True Patriot Love Foundation', established by retired General Rick Hillier, to support Canadian military families in need. His work was entitled "We Stand on Guard for Thee". He was chosen again in 2010, this time sculpting a small scale model of the famous Canadian Pacific Railway memorial from the Vancouver Waterfront Station for the auction.

In early 2009, Milljour donated a full scale painting to Vancouver's 'Red Galleria', "Paint Vancouver Red" charity auction to benefit the Vancouver Children's Hospital.

In late 2009, Milljour's painting "The Caterpillar" was featured in the Calgary Public Library foundation Literary Awards charity auction“.

Milljour is often featured in numerous other charities and auctions contributing to the community. These range from benefits for animal foundations to raising money for the awareness of human trafficking.

Style

Artwork ranges far and wide in subject matter, from traditional architecture, to figures of incredible emotion, depth and color. Often categorized into Lowbrow, he mainly uses Chiaroscuro, to create vivid Figurative images with somewhat of a Gothic, Erotic, and often Fetish flair.

Although usually focusing on his fine art in acrylic and oil paint, his newer works are becoming more and more digital, often using hand sketches digitally touched up.

His artwork was chosen in 2008 by Calgary Transit for their urban renewal program, "Art in Motion" where local artists works were chosen to help decorate unsightly utility boxes in downtown Calgary. His pieces, "Calgary in Green" and "Monoliths, both dark and foreboding surreal cityscapes of Calgary were chosen, and can be seen in both Eau Claire and on Center Street. In the summer of 2010, he was again commissioned by Calgary Transit for mural paintings on 16th Avenue North. Large scale pieces of his artwork can be seen on 16th Avenue and center street as well as decorating the walkway from 16th Avenue to SAIT Polytechnic.

His gig poster artwork is usually a staple in downtown Vancouver, predominantly on the heavily postered Granville Street.

Criticism

-In December of 2007, Milljour was reviewed by Thomas Roche of New York Eros Zine online magazine, after his first solo exhibition entitled "Inamorata". Roche described his artwork as "gorgeously goth-influenced".

-After being coupled with short story author Derek Cagemann for Murky Depths Magazine of Great Britain, Milljour received the following criticism by horror writer Daniel W. Powell: "This story, coupled with Nathaniel Milljour's haunting artwork, stands as an excellent allegory on how dangerous it can be to devalue our basic sense of shared humanity."

Future Works

Milljour had stated on his personal site http://www.StudioNoire.com, that he intended to release a Tarot card deck, featuring his artwork sometime in 2009. Twenty two Flash animated cards of the Major Arcana featured on his site "StudioNoire.com", as well as an appearance of some of these cards in the Halloween issue of "Oysters and Chocolate Magazine", Colorado, backed up this claim, although no publisher has come forward with any information leaving speculation Milljour may be in the works of self-publishing the deck.

External links

• Studio Noire Homepage of artist Nathaniel Milljour
• Gigposters.com Online Gig and Music Poster Collection of Nathaniel Milljour / Studio Noire
• Myspace Personal Myspace of Nathaniel Milljour
• Studio Noire Youtube Channel
• Horror Writer Daniel W. Powell Blog Online Review of Murky Depths Magazine
• Image of Milljour's Artwork in Downtown Calgary Calgary "Art in Motion" Urban Renewal Project
• DECADENCE A Decade of Gothic, Bohemian and Alternative Art
• Red Galleria, Vancouver Special Thanks to Contributing Artists to "Paint Vancouver Red" Auction for Vancouvers Children's Hospital
• Thomas Roche Interview with Nathaniel Milljour for Eros zine New York

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Name	Milljour, Nathaniel
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