Tim Nicholson

I started drawing before I could read or write. I remember that feeling of first putting pencil to paper, and the realisation that the act of drawing and its accomplishment could give great joy. It revealed a connection with the world that was both gentle and inspiring.

An architect by profession, I kept up my artistic interests throughout my architectural career. Now retired, I am able to take them up more fully. Recent work has concentrated on oil painting. Over the years I have made drawings, watercolours, collages and copper plate prints.

There is delight to be found in the intimate contact between pencil and paper, the sensitivity of touch, the rhythm and modulation of pressure that creates variable thickness, depth and continuity of line; this is what imbues drawing with its inherent beauty and its humanity. The same applies with brush on canvas, the application of colour to create form. It requires keenness of observation, concentration, and a certain stillness of mind. The reward is a deeper understanding and appreciation of the world.

Works of art have a life of their own. One may start with an express intention, and find oneself transported to another world. The subject matter varies, but some themes run consistently through my work. Foremost is a desire to capture and portray the experience of being somewhere, of events and places at particular points in time. That awareness and sense of presence that resides in all of us evokes thoughts and memories that may be articulated and communicated through art.