Hayden Nichols

Artist Biography: Hayden Nichols was born in April of 1993, in Magnolia, Arkansas. He has spent the majority of his life there and continues to reside there today. Ever since Hayden was a young child, he has loved art and working with his hands. He took to drawing and sketching with anything he could find, including pencils, pens, markers, and crayons. As a child, Hayden found a large interest in nature and science, which naturally produced an interest in the fantastical. He would take what he learned from nature and science and use them to make characters, creatures, and comics. He would fill entire notebooks with his creations. He carried his love for the arts to college, however, he did not go down the art career path. Hayden started at Southern Arkansas University in the fall of 2011 on a Blue and Gold academic scholarship. He began his college career in the biology field as a pre-med student. After multiple changes to his major, Hayden dropped out of college for lack of certainty about his future occupation. He returned several years later in 2017 to pursue a career in the arts, and enrolled in the fine arts side of the Game, Animation, and Simulation degree plan. Hayden has a love for invention and fantasy, and that shows through his work, by creating unique and interesting creature and character designs. When exploring his work more deeply he also touches on subjects such as life and death. He also pulls influence and inspiration from many different types of art and artists. Artists such as Edward Hopper, Leonardo DaVinci, and Yusuke Muruta. The sum of Hayden’s entire life is what connects him to his art. He found a passionate interest in nature and science, along with a lifetime of movies, books, games, and history. All of these experiences and interests are what made Hayden the artist he is today.