“Detail American Dollar.”

Lopez artist Laine Nichols can swing from deep and piercing thoughtfulness to table-shaking laughter in about the time it takes to type a period at the end of a sentence. For example, in response to a question posed to her about the greatest influence on her artwork, she pauses, stares pensively down at the table, then answers with a single word: “Money.”

She immediately breaks into loud and spontaneous yelps of laughter, which I join, thinking about her wonderful drawings of dollar bills displayed during her library show earlier this year. Nichols is, she says, thinking about how it sounds to say ‘money’ is what influences her the most. “That makes it sound like I’m influenced by the financial aspect of it, but that’s not it at all. The dollar bill is one of those things that just doesn’t change. It’s iconic in our culture, everyone recognizes it, and it has this incredibly mystic dimension to it, so, right now, that’s what’s influencing me.”

Even Nichols’ very definition of an artistic philosophy demonstrates the quirky approach she often takes to her art. “I think, rather than an artistic philosophy, what I have is the lack of an artistic philosophy. I know I frequently don’t like art that dwells on an artist’s opinions, political viewpoints, or even tells the viewer what the artist is thinking. If possible,” she suggests, “this should be labeled an ‘Artist (?) Profile’ with a question mark after the word ‘Artist.’”

Despite her protestations that she lacks a defining artistic philosophy, Nichols is definite about her work. “I began drawing because I found I didn’t like painting. It could just be that I’m not a very good painter, but, whatever the reason, I know that drawing gives me more control over my work and that drawings, at least my drawings, are much ‘cleaner,’ not so busy.”

In addition to money, Nichols credits a number of other influences. The contemporary artist and illustrator Nate Van Dyke, Nichols says, “has some drawings that are so good they make me angry.”

Nichols is unusual from many Lopezians today in that she has grown up here on Lopez Island. She is adamant about the importance of Lopez to her work, because “Lopez affords me the time and space to do the work I want to do. There’s also the immediacy of the presence of nature, particularly birds, which I love to observe and draw; this can’t be over-emphasized.”

Lately, Nichols has been spending less time drawing and more time learning silver smithing under the tutelage of Rita Elliot. She wants to work more with silver, gold, and other metals and has become interested in jewelry. “Rita’s wonderful. She’s willing to share things with me that have taken her thirty years to learn.”

Nichols, whose work can currently be seen at the Galley, is hoping to have a show of her metalsmithing completed and on display at Elliot’s studio in Lopez Village before the holidays. Earlier this year, Nichols’ drawings were featured in a show at the Lopez Library. She even did a painting for the short-lived art wall in the village, a painting that she “felt pretty good about.”

Nichols is also a writer, as well as a visual artist. Her writing, she says, informs her drawings as much as her drawings come to bear on her writing. Both pursuits “force” her to pay more attention to details than she feels she otherwise would. While she doesn’t consider any of her drawings to be narrative in nature, they, like her writing, bring focus on even the smallest elements in an action, person, or object.

Nichols does take commission work, particularly for her drawings. To contact her, call her at 468-2194 or email her at laynenichols@yahoo.com.

When asked if she could spend one day with any artist in any medium, Nichols doesn’t hesitate. “I’d love to have Amanda Rodriquez’s brain for myself. She’s best known as a fashion designer, and I think the work she’s doing is different, really cool.” The same can be said of Laine Nichols and her work.