Tim Nicholson - 'EVOCATIONS of LANDSCAPE'

Evocations of Landscape by Tim Nicholson

4 September - 27 October

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.  I later discovered the wonders of oil paint at school.  An architect by profession, I went into architecture partly out of a love of drawing.  During my architectural career, I sustained my artistic endeavours through sketching, water colour, collage and etching.  Since retirement, I have actively taken up oil painting again.

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 grace and its humanity.  The same applies with brush on canvas, the application of colour to create form, light and shade.  It requires keenness of observation, concentration, and a certain stillness of mind.  The reward is a deeper understanding and appreciation of the world.

Landscape is charged with meaning.  Its pattern and flow have the power to shape how we feel, think and relate to our surroundings.  It may conjure many different emotions; an awareness of beauty, a sense of sanctuary, the possibility of renewal, personal revelation, an appreciation of both the familiar and restless change.

Works of art have a life of their own.  One may start with an express intention, and find oneself transported to another world.  Some themes run consistently through my work.  Foremost is a desire to capture and portray the experience of being somewhere, to use perception, imagination and memory to evoke the distinctive character and atmosphere, the essence, of a place.  The connection with nature, that presence that resides in all of us, elicits a response that may be articulated and communicated through art.