OVERVIEW: Nick has been fascinated by the cosmos since a young age. This area of interest inspired the series you are about to see below. From the scorching surfaces of Mercury and Venus, to frigid ice-giants like Neptune, this series showcases a unique perspective of each planet in our solar system through Nick’s geometric visual language. Each painting highlights scientific intricacies through subtle abstraction. Yes, even our dear friend Pluto makes an appearance.
Earth is our home, but we’re not the only ones on the block.
01 - MERCURY
As kids, we’re told not to stare at the sun. Mercury doesn’t abide by this rule, due to its slow rotational spin. It stares at the sun for long segments of its orbit. When researching Mercury prior to starting this piece, the decision was made to make most of the composition comprised of “The Sun.” From Mercury’s vantage point, the Sun is massive. Surface temperatures during the day on Mercury are pretty gnarly. (800+ °F)
Nick chose to utilize viscous linework and vibrant yellows, drawing upon the punishing heat and brightness that the sun casts across Mercury. Images of solar flares and storms inspired these angular shapes. Mercury, in this painting, is the small grey shape in the bottom right, with a “1” signifying it as the first planet in the system.
“I wanted it to look like the sun is absolutely punishing.” - Nick
MERCURY FACTS:
Daytime Temp + 800 °F, Nighttime temp -290° F (due to shade)
Named after roman god for speed
Only slightly larger than Earth's Moon.
Second hottest planet in system despite closeness to sun.
Mercury is on average 35 million miles away from the sun
(02 - VENUS)
Venus is intense. It has a thick, toxic atmosphere filled with carbon dioxide and it’s perpetually shrouded in thick, yellowish clouds of sulfuric acid. If a person were to visit, they would be crushed by the enormous weight of the atmosphere and burn up due to surface temperatures high enough to melt lead.
With Venus’ stunning volcanic activity, and sulfuric lightning, harsh yellows/greens and oranges were chosen to reflect the intensity lurking on this haunting landscape.
“Most of this canvas features the punishing Venusian atmosphere. Below the atmosphere there is a sharp line signifying Sulfuric lightning, and a few tectonic plates shooting volcanic material into the sky.” - Nick
VENUS FACTS:
The Soviet Union’s Venera 13 probe survived the intense Venusian heat and crushing pressure on the surface for about two hours. Engineers from several nations are currently studying methods to extend the life of robotic spacecraft in this extreme environment.
Named after Roman goddess of Love.
+ 870 °F average temperature
Similar in size and structure to Earth, Venus has been called Earth's twin.
03 - Earth (SOLD)
Where we make our stand. With an immense array of life thriving and coexisting, this is the only planet in the system known to harbor lifeforms as we know.
Countless lifeforms have thrived throughout its history, though some have gone extinct. Finding the most effective and long-lasting coexistent plan with the Earth has become an area of interest for many of the human population. Some humans have even constructed devices to discover more about the cosmos and their place in it. Some of these humans cooperated together to build and live aboard crafts orbiting their home planet for long periods of time. Will they ever meet their cosmic kin? Time will tell.
Needless to say, there is much of the world and its cosmic neighborhood to explore.
“With so many landscape images of Earth, I wanted to stray from a direct landscape composition and find a way to illustrate day/night, oceans, clouds, and architecture in an abstracted way.” - Nick
EARTH FACTS:
Earth is home to 8.7 million species, scientists estimate
Laika the dog was the first Earthling to orbit Earth aboard the Soviet Union's Sputnik 2 in 1957.
The name Earth is 1,000 years old, derived from a Germanic word, which simply means “the ground.”
04 - MARS (SOLD)
Mars is also quite a dynamic planet. It has seasons, polar ice caps, canyons, and extinct volcanoes. Mars’ nickname, “Red Planet” came from us seeing iron minerals in the Martian soil oxidize, or rust, causing the soil and atmosphere to look red. Once on the actual surface though, the soil has a butterscotch color to it.
Mars has tangerine skies instead of blue. The sun setting on Mars casts a blue hue, instead of a yellow/orange hue like on Earth. The setting sun can be seen in the composition, middle left. Like Earth, Mars has frozen polar caps, but unlike Earth, these caps are made of carbon dioxide ice as well as water ice.
“Mars is awesome. Vibrant reds, oranges, and tans... Tons of canyons and lots of it mapped out by researchers as well. Much is known about the Martian surface even with photos from there. Still lots yet to discover.” - Nick
MARS FACTS:
A summer day at the equator of Mars can be a balmy 70 °F (20 °C)
Mars is mostly very cold, despite its desert-like appearance.
There is strong evidence Mars used to be wetter and warmer, with a thicker atmosphere.
05 - JUPITER (SOLD)
Jupiter’s iconic Great Red Spot is a giant storm bigger than Earth that has raged for hundreds of years. Jupiter has a long history surprising scientists—all the way back to 1610 when Galileo Galilei found the first moons beyond Earth. Jupiter's familiar stripes and swirls are actually cold, windy clouds of ammonia and water, floating in an atmosphere of hydrogen and helium.
In 2019, the Great Red Spot began "flaking" at its edge, with fragments of the storm breaking off and dissipating. Astronomers have determined that the Great Red Spot could dissipate within 20 years.
“I tried capture the red storm’s momentum in this piece, with vibrant angular shapes moving across the frame.” - Nick
JUPITER FACTS:
Jupiter has more than 75 moons.
Nine spacecraft have visited Jupiter.
In 1979 the Voyager mission discovered Jupiter’s faint ring system.
If Earth were the size of a grape, Jupiter would be the size of a basketball.
06 - SATURN
Saturn is a true icon of the cosmos. With vibrant rings of dust and ice spanning 170,000 miles across (273,600 km) — but only about 30 feet (10 m) thick, Saturn is easily the most photogenic. Saturn has inspired so much science fiction literature, cinema, television, and culture over the years since its discovery In 1610 by Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei. He was the first to gaze at Saturn through a telescope.
Few missions have visited Saturn: Pioneer 11 and Voyagers 1 and 2 flew by; But Cassini orbited Saturn 294 times from 2004 to 2017. At the end of it’s mission, the Cassini spacecraft was intentionally vaporized in Saturn’s atmosphere in 2017.
“Saturn is the pinnacle portrait of a planet. We are fortunate to have such a stunning planet in our system. I played a lot of Halo growing up too. Hence the name” - Nick
SATURN FACTS:
Saturn has 53 known moons with an additional 29 moons awaiting confirmation of their discovery— (82 moons total)
-285 °F Average temperature.
There are actually many rings—maybe 500 to 1000
07 - URANUS (SOLD)
Uranus is tipped on its axis by almost 90-degrees. Voyager 2 is the only spacecraft to fly by Uranus. No spacecraft has orbited this distant planet to study it at length and up close. The radioactive element uranium was named after Uranus when it was discovered in 1789, just eight years after the planet was discovered.
Wind speeds on Uranus range from 90 to 360 mph and the planet's average temperature is a frigid -353 °F. The coldest temperature found in Uranus' lower atmosphere so far is -371 °F, which rivals Neptune's frigid temperatures.
“I wanted to showcase the thin rings in this piece while signifying a few of its storms and windy tones too.” - Nick
URANUS FACTS:
Uranus has 27 known moons, and they are named after characters from the works of William Shakespeare and Alexander Pope.
Uranus is nearly four times larger than Earth.
08 - NEPTUNE (SOLD)
Neptune was the first planet located through mathematical calculations/hypothesis, rather than by telescope. Telescopic observations confirming the existence of Neptune were made on the night of September 23, 1846.
It is the eighth and most distant major planet orbiting our Sun. It is dark, cold, and whipped by supersonic winds. NASA's Voyager 2 is the only spacecraft to have visited Neptune up close. It flew past in 1989 on its way out of the solar system.
“Color wise, Neptune is stunning with supersonic winds and lots of motion. Pretty death metal.” - Nick
NEPTUNE FACTS:
Neptune has at least five faint main rings.
Only planet in our solar system not visible to the naked eye.
Takes 165 Earth years to orbit the sun (a Neptunian year)
-392 °F average temperature.
09 - PLUTO
What? You thought Pluto wouldn’t make the cut? Pluto is a fan favorite. And for good reason. Pluto is a complex world of ice mountains and frozen plains. Once considered the ninth planet, Pluto is the largest member of the Kuiper Belt and the best known of a new class of worlds called dwarf planets.
This fascinating world has blue skies, spinning moons, mountains as high as the Rockies, and it snows – but the snow is red due to it being frozen Methane. The New Horizons team has discovered a chain of exotic snowcapped mountains stretching across the dark expanse on Pluto informally named the Cthulhu Region.
“Much of my generation was taught about Pluto at a young age. It’s such a fascinating dwarf planet. Red snow? I mean c’mon. How sick is that.” - Nick
PLUTO FACTS:
Pluto is about 1,400 miles (2,380 km) wide. That's about half the width of the United States.
Because of Pluto’s elliptical orbit, it is sometimes closer to the Sun (and us) than Neptune is.
Pluto has a range of colors, including pale sections of off-white and light blue, to streaks of yellow and subtle orange, to large patches of deep red.
Side note - This canvas features a small broken heart icon, due to Pluto being kicked off of the official “Planet” list. We’re not bitter. =)
10 - (Hypothesized) (SOLD)
Caltech researchers have found mathematical evidence suggesting there may be a "Planet X" deep in the solar system. The mathematical prediction of a planet could explain the unique orbits of some smaller objects in the Kuiper Belt, a distant region of icy debris that extends far beyond the orbit of Neptune. Astronomers are now searching for the predicted planet.
The prediction is based on detailed mathematical modeling and computer simulations, not direct observation. Any object that far away from the Sun will be very faint and hard to detect, but astronomers calculate that it should be possible to see using existing current telescopes. It’s discovery might happen within our lifetimes. Much like Neptune was hypothesized mathematically prior to its telescopic discovery, this planet could follow a similar pattern of research and discovery.
“It’s fascinating to imagine that there are still worlds out there yet to be discovered. Exploration is key, and Planet X embodied a lot of my approach in producing these paintings… Creative exploring.” - Nick
PLANET X FACTS:
Planets are traditionally named for mythological Roman gods.
It may take between 10,000 and 20,000 Earth years to make one full orbit around the Sun.
Naming rights of a new object go to the person who actually discovers it.
The Planetary Neighbors paintings were produced by Nick Abstract in his Indianapolis studio, November 2020-May 2021. Each piece is hand painted entirely by Nick Abstract himself using straight edges, tape, charcoal, Acrylic paint and more.
CANVAS SIZE: 36in Width / 60in Height / 1.5in Depth
PRICING:
Staring at the Sun (01 Mercury) - Available $850 usd
Clouds of Acid (02 Venus) - Available $850 usd
Home (03 Earth) - SOLD
Dry Ice (04 Mars) - SOLD
Centuries of Rage (05 Jupiter) - SOLD
Halo (06 Saturn) - Available $850 usd
Axis Tilt (07 Uranus) - SOLD
Dark Chaos (08 Neptune) - SOLD
Snowing Blood (09 Pluto) - Available $850 usd
Planet X (10 Hypothesized) - SOLD
Contact: info@nick.abstract.com or 317 374 8486 for purchase details.
LIMIT: All available pieces are up for sale. Purchasing multiple results in discount.
MEDIUM: Genie Canvas - Assembled and securely built, Aerosol and Acrylic paints used, and each piece is ready to hang!
Nick has signed, titled, dated and individually numbered each piece on the reverse.
SHIPMENT: Earth-wide Shipping. (Or Solar-system wide, if anyone is out there lol)
*Please take note that due to the aerosol coatings some minor dust, and particles could appear embedded in the finish. All pieces have been inspected by Nick and therefore all artworks have passed his inspection. All sales are final. We do not accept returns. In the unlikely event of damage in shipping, it is the buyer’s responsibility to file insurance claim with the post office. We insure, and declare full value of the artworks being sent. We are not responsible for your country import taxes. Thank you for your understanding and supporting.
“Extra thank you to Michael Durr, Alex/Mike, Genie Canvas, friends, family, and all others who helped make this series happen. Much love.” - Nick