20 x 25 cm | 7 x 9 in
Original painting in oil on purple linen.
"My paintings start with a coloured or patterned surface by stretching high-quality fabric over a wooden frame. I have developed a way of preparing these fabrics so that they can add something to the story of the painting. Painted on a heavy purple linen, Violet Light takes her name from a story about Brown Jenkin by H.P. Lovecraft. The patterns and colours of the painting makes reference to the aura of the sitter, a psychotherapist who knows more than you might expect. Painting on fabric instead of traditional cotton canvas creates a beautiful surface texture, but is also more interesting when viewing the painting from the side."
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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