Nicholas Tesluk

Born in Chicago and raised in a little idyllic village of Wildwood in northern Illinois, Nicholas as a child would romp through the dense woods pretending to be an adventurer around the humid, swampy lakes near his house. Fascinated by the vivid illustrations of N. C. Wyeth and the stories of Mark Twain and of mythical heroes of the past, his future in both his music and his art was foretold from an early age. Though always fascinated by nature, his art often seems to be drawn to the darker mysterious side of what may be hidden beneath the surface of natural life.

Having written songs with his cousin, R. N Taylor, for decades as the musical duo, Changes, between them, Nicholas’s quest for heroes and myths has been and is being fulfilled. Among their songs of love/love lost and songs of the state of our culture and humanity are songs of legends and heroism.

In the years since retirement, Nicholas has gotten more deeply into his pictorial art with pastel painting. Stark colorful sunsets and still-life paintings trending toward Gothic detail his artistic oeuvre. Not always the case, but when a particular painting actually captures the artistic dream that was formulated in his mind at the start is what makes it all definitely worthwhile.

Nicholas Tesluk has some of his best writing featured in Poems from the Red Salon, previously available in chapbook form and now available at Amazon as an expanded paperback.