When You’re Blue, Just Add Colour
Nicholas Robins shows us that the gold at the end of a rainbow is the rainbow itself.

Photographer / Vince Vining

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We’re in it now. There’s no turning back. Sweet summer is long gone and it’s only going to get colder, darker, bleaker, duller, gloomier, (did I mention colder?) from here on out. But before you zombie off into the frigid abyss, you might want to check out Nicholas Robins’ artwork. It could very well help you cope with the dreary months ahead. Under the pseudonym Peer A Mid, Robins’ work is a collection of geometric shapes, patterns and symbols all hand drawn using a spectrum of feel-good colours.

Layton Wu: Where did the idea for the name ‘Peer-a-Mid’ come from?

Nicholas Robins: It was kind of a joke. In 2009 I was living in Halifax, and I was DJing a lot of little parties. When I was asked to DJ my first nightclub I needed to come up with a DJ name. I was really into drawing pyramids, So DJ PEER A MID came to mind. And thus the identity was born. The DJ thing didn’t stick, but the artistic identity, kind of just hung around.

LW: Why pyramids and prisms?

NR: When I was living in Vancouver and attending Emily Carr I was going through this spiritual/hippy/back –to- the- land kind of kick. I would spend my extra money on prisms at the crystal shop near my school. I would put them in all the windows in my house to fill the rooms with rainbows. I kept this up when I moved to Halifax. It was grey and cold there, but the sun would always make an appearance in the early morning, and the morning rainbows really saved my mental health. It kind of crept its way very full on into my art.

LW: How does the art scene here compare to the scene out West?

NR: It’s very different here, there are a lot more opportunities. There are just more people, and more money. So there’s actually “kind of” (and I emphasize “kind of”) a possibility of sustaining yourself from your art practice here. That’s not really possible in a place like Vancouver Island.

LW: Will you draw me like one of your pyramids?

NR: Ya I’ll draw you a pyramid, but I don’t like drawing people. I can draw your essence inside a pyramid; but maybe not a representational illustration of you as a pyramid.

LW: What’s the best way for an artist/illustrator to get their name out there?

NR: Networking with other like-minded artists on different image hosting websites like Flickr, Tumblr etc… is a pretty good way to get out there. But I personally feel like building a physical network is the best thing for any artist. Actually meeting other makers, and gallerists etc… will in the long run prove more beneficial.

LW: What’s the biggest challenge artists/illustrators face today?

NR: Not falling to distractions. I can only really speak for myself, but I think that in a big city like this one, as an artist you really have to manage your time and work hard at your practice.

LW: Do you have any rituals before you touch pen to paper?

NR: Mop the floor, open the windows, do the dishes.  I like working in pristine cleanliness.

LW: How do you know if something is working or if it isn’t?

NR: I work very quickly. So I know that things aren’t working when I’m struggling to get anything done. When I’m in the zone I can really just pump the work out.

LW: Who’s your favourite artist/illustrator?

NR: I’m really into Martin Creed, right now, and I will always be inspired by Sol Lewitt. Both these artist exude a massive confidence in their choices of colour and shapes, while at the same time not over complicating things with too much information. I’ve always been inspired by my friends, Luke Ramsey, Erik Volet and Keith Jones. They all gave me the confidence to be the artist I am today.

LW: How do you get over a plateau?

NR: I go swimming in the lake, walk through quiet streets, ride bikes, go running or do yoga, anything to clear my head, I used to go swimming in the ocean, when I lived on the West coast.