Nicola Wiltshire
Degree: MFA Art and Humanties
University: University of Dundee
Graduation Year: 2015
New Blood Art Commentary
Nicola Wiltshire’s paintings hum with a quiet, luminous presence. Working with oil paint and charcoal on patterned fabrics - from Toile de Jouy to William Morris-inspired prints, she builds images that feel both grounded and enchanted, domestic and dreamlike.
Every surface is alive: colour fields pulse against heavy linework; plants, flowers, interiors, and glimpsed landscapes emerge with a handmade clarity that holds both tenderness and strength. Her subjects are simple - a vase, a garden, a hillside seen from a train - but they carry something larger: a reverence for the everyday, a trust in the beauty of close observation.
Wiltshire’s commitment to her materials runs deep. She hand-makes many of her oil paints and is now beginning to craft her own pastels - extending the intimacy of her process into every layer of the work. Her paintings are collected widely, often held in multiples, drawn by the same quality that moves through every piece: the transformation of ordinary life into something quietly extraordinary.
Read: A Day in the Studio of Nicola Wiltshire
Read more about Nicola's studio practice.
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Artist Statement
Colour is fundamental to my practice, as is the cycle of observing and recording everyday life. My paintings are stylistically contemporary, yet deeply rooted in art history and the rich heritage of oil painting. I use techniques that refer back to centuries-old traditions, such as making my own oil paint and pastels, but paint on coloured and patterned fabric - instead of canvas - for the dynamic and tactile foundation it lays. I am fascinated by the domestic quality of textiles and how this lends itself to my paintings, which move between traditional genres of portrait, landscape and still life. I paint domestic interiors, flowers from the garden, woodland walks and the rolling hills as seen from the window of a train. These are snapshots of an average life, transformed with colour, curiosity and imagination: the result of my quiet observations of the world around me.
Solo Exhibitions
(2023) Midnight Oil, Paul Smith, London
(2021) Flickering Lights, Trickling Dream, The Jam Factory, Oxford
(2019) The Other Art Fair, Kings Cross, London
(2018) The Loom Runs. The Smoke Rises, The Meffan Gallery, Forfar, Scotland
(2017) A Beacon In Darkness, Alien Hole Gallery, Inverness, Scotland
(2017) The Loom Runs. The Smoke Rises, Verdant Works, Dundee, Scotland
(2017) Liberty Landscapes, Pittenweem Arts Festival, Fife, Scotland
(2016) Dundee Icons, Roseangle Gallery, Dundee, Scotland
(2016) Contemporary Icons, Hartlepool Art Gallery, Durham, England
(2015) Dundee Icons, Duncan Of Jordanstone College Of Art And Design, Dundee, Scotland
Group Exhibitions
(2023) Members' Show, Generator Projects, Dundee
(2022) Winter Exhibition, Select Gallery, London
(2022) NORTH, Visual Arts Scotland, Inverness
(2021) Members' Show, Generator Projects, Dundee
(2021) In The Flesh, Dock Street Studios, Dundee
(2021) Summer Series 5, Pittenweem Arts Festival, Fife
(2021) SURGE, Tatha Gallery, Fife
(2020) On The Table, Curated by Julie-Ann Simpson, Online
(2020) Winter Exhibition, Select Gallery, London
(2020) F L O W, Visual Arts Scotland, Online
(2019) The Secret Garden, Pittenweem Arts Festival, Fife
(2019) Royal Scottish Academy Annual Exhibition, Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh
(2019) Alight, Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh, Scotland
(2018) Current, Tatha Gallery, Newport-on-Tay, Scotland
(2018) The Net Loft, Pittenweem Arts Festival, Fife, Scotland
(2018) Fractured 2, Studio 11, Dundee, Scotland
(2017) Winter Exhibition, The Meffan Gallery, Forfar, Scotland
(2016) Winter Exhibition, Gallery Heinzel, Aberdeen, Scotland
(2016) Mixed Exhibition, Dundas Street Gallery, Edinburgh, Scotland
(2016) Tighnabruaich Art Gallery, Edinburgh Art Fair, Edinburgh, Scotland
(2016) VAU Members' Show, St Margaret's House, Edinburgh, Scotland
(2016) Mandala, Image Collective, Edinburgh, Scotland
(2016) Identity Through Landscape, House For An Art Lover, Glasgow, Scotland
(2016) Stuffed Gallery, Newave Art Gallery, Aberdeen, Scotland
(2016) Where Our Minds Are Now, Tin Roof, Dundee, Scotland
(2016) Folk Art, Folk Cafe Gallery, Dundee, Scotland
(2015) This Must Be The Place, Meadow Mill, Dundee, Scotland
(2015) Liverpool Art Fair, Pier Head Village, Liverpool, England
(2014) Saudades, CCOB, Barcelos, Portugal
(2014) Language/Lingua, CCOB, Barcelos, Portugal
(2014) Time/Tempo, CCOB, Barcelos, Portugal
(2014) Line/Linha, CCOB, Barcelos, Portugal
(2012) New Rad, Radcliffe and Newlands Ltd, London, England
(2011) Responsive Eye, London Gallery West, London, England
(2010) Luxury Goods: The Role Of Art, The Courtyard Theatre, London, England
(2009) Polyglot, Ambika P3, London, England
(2009) Icons, London Gallery West, London, England
(2008) News From Nowhere, London Gallery West, London, England
(2008) LaLaLa Exhibition, 491 Gallery, London, England
Competitions, Prizes & Awards
(2010) Juliet Gomperts Trust Award
(2014) Leonardo Da Vinci Project Scholarship
(2015) Thomas And Margaret Roddan Trust Award
(2015) Dundee Visual Artists + Craft Makers Award
(2017) The Meffan Gallery Purchase Prize Commendation
(2017) Pittenweem Art Festival Bursary Award