New Artist Statement March 2021

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Nigel is a visual artist working in North Wales In the UK making paintings and prints. His work evolves from the perception of abstraction, symmetry, system and organisation, while working with these parameters it is a continual challenge to break away from these configurations. The practice and process of making visual work is an organic structure, evolving, questioning and resolving. Working in this way the product is never static, a question or idea is posed and the practice engages this and work comes out of that equation. This means the practice works within a basic range of “tools” but the formula changes resulting in variables of the art made.

In late 2020 the work has returned to the proposition of mark making and his own interpretation of this fundamental act, so using the “tools” perceived in the practice a re-examination of the nucleus of making art is taking place.

New Artist Statement January 2019

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Nigel is a visual artist working in North Wales in the UK making paintings and prints, his work is mainly associated with the flatness of paper and canvas, but has a developing interest in the sculptural forms of these disciplines and explores the ideas of flatness, surface and formin relation to the printed/painted image.

An emerging theme in the work is physical and perceived distortion, by usingthe simplicity and duplicity of line he investigates the balance and unity of symmetry, colour and spatial aesthetics promptinga manipulation of image using moiré distortion, interference pattern and spatial index. Although the complexity of these subjects could infer science and mathematical research Nigel’s interest remains in the visual perception of an artist eye.

 

“I like my art to play with our visual senses, to challenge our experience of looking, to help the viewer question what they see in a piece of art.”

 

He is the print facilitator for The Regional Print Centre at Wrexham, North Wales teaching printmaking through courses and workshops. He recently completed an MA in Fine Art Studio Practice at the University of Central Lancashire, prior to this studied at The University of Chester and Edinburgh College of Art. He recently was awarded the ArtLab CPS prize for printmaking and was shortlisted for the Flourish Award.

 

 

Saline Sulphate Etchings.

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For some time now I have been making etchings using saline sulphate and the result have been improving all the time, ever since I started printmaking in 2009 i have never been content with any of the attempts at etching, I blundered through with the grounds and the etching needles and been dismayed as the images produced. Lately the context of my practice has re-assessed the geometric, drawn line aesthetic of my work in relation to my ideology of abstraction, the moiré effect is one outcome of this, another is the constructed geometric emerging by intuitive drawing using ruler and compass. These contextualise the grid, perspective and spacial awareness. By using the newer acrylic resists and aquatints available combined with the saline etch I have begun to make  forward steps in my etching methods and prints. constructive-geometry-1

Now I look to Electro etching with guidance from the excellent Don Braisby, using steel but continuing with the acrylic resists and aquatint.

Some new linoprints

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I have just completed a series of new linoprints, these engage the moiré effect that I am interested in at the moment, it is the crossover of lines and colours at different angles that creates a blur notion. Using the geometric circle as a vehicle for these lines enables a non-directional linear element to these prints. Unusually I have printed these as a very small edition as I normally print as a series of single prints connected through the plate using various combinations of plates and colours. con-circles-5

Now I am considering employing these ideas into a reduction lino print, the down side is that it may reduce the working method I have become accustom to but this could be good or bad i don’t know yet. (See more of these prints in the work section of this website.)