Flower Garden (framed)

Nicola Wiltshire

EDITOR OF WHAT ARTISTS LIKE

Read: A Day in the Studio of Nicola Wiltshire
Read more about Nicola's studio practice.
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Nicola Wiltshire joins our Masters section
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Solo show at Paul Smith 
Little Van Gogh Residency 

Nicola Wiltshire’s paintings hold absorbingly bold forms, which immediately capture the viewer's attention. She was listed as an artist to watch in The Guardian, has held a number of solo exhibitions, most recently with the fashion designer Paul Smith, plus has had work included in group shows across the UK. Nicola was awarded an artist residency with Little Van Gogh, plus undertook a six-month Artist Residency at Halley Stevensons, who manufacture waxed cotton for clients such as Barbour from their Dundee factory. Often made with oil paint and charcoal on patterned fabric, Nicola's use of heavy linear structures resemble expressionistic styles whilst flat colour and striking use of pattern give her subjects unusual and therapeutic dimensions. The rendition of each piece lends it an evocatively striking impact. The line and form are fluid and diverse, allowing her subjects to portray illusive identities and an intriguing subjectivity. The use of colour is similarly exciting; mixed hues create muddied and pastel shades, which are placed in contrast of one another, side by side. This creates a stimulating juxtaposition of a calming sensibility whilst conversely adding ambiguous tensions. Her ongoing series of still lifes has been particularly successful at capturing the tactile qualities of the fabric she paints on - her trademark style - in these paintings, fabrics such as Toile de Jouy, patterned linen and William Morris-inspired prints become decorative vases for high-pigment representations of house plants and seasonal wildflowers. These paintings, along with her portraits and landscapes, have attracted a loyal collector base; many of whom own more than one of these paintings in their collection. She continues to paint with integrity - using high quality oil paints, many that she makes by hand in her studio and is beginning to explore other traditional processes such as handmaking pastel crayons.