Collection: NICK HOLLY PRINTS

Born in 1968, Nick Holly grew up in St Thomas, Swansea, what he calls ‘the doorstep of the industrial eastside’.

Nick studied at the Swansea School of Art and Design, leaving in 1988, and he secured his first solo show in an art gallery in 1998. He is now widely recognized as of the UK’s most accomplished artists. He regularly shows his work in galleries across Wales and London.

His early work depicted scenes of traditional Welsh life and landscapes such as streets of terrace houses, similar to the area was he was brought up. More recently he has started to incorporate people in his paintings, conveying the life of the communities in which he lives. With his interest in capturing scenes of gritty Welsh life he has become known as a chronicler or urban life in post-industrial Wales. Reviewers have compared his work to artist L. S. Lowry.

His palette consists mainly of blues and greys with small touches of red that draw the viewers eye, such as a boys red football shirt or the red sail of a boat. Nick says ‘the red colour draws the eye into the painting. I use the technique the help people recall the scene’. Other signal elements that those who have known his work for some years will recognize he says are ‘yellow taxis, fire hydrants, the Chrysler building and the Brooklyn Bridge.’