Nigel Swift | Halcyon

About

Born in 1961, Nigel Swift studied at the Slade School of Fine Art and the Central School of Art where he studied printmaking. Since graduating in 1985 he has exhibited his work throughout the UK.

‘My work is mostly landscape based, from looking and working in situ or from memories and drawings completed in my studio. I paint in oil on boards no larger than twenty inches by twenty, sometimes repainting and redrawing over many months, allowing different images to come and go, often returning to the original structure and drawing. Ultimately I am trying to paint more than the obvious and strip the content to its bare bones, often this results in the destruction of the painting until the next session.

Along with painting I use printmaking especially drypoint, etching and monotype as these are all very direct methods of catching shapes, moods and atmosphere. Again I often work in location and return to the studio to simplify the images. These are also quite small, three or four inches up to twelve inches at the most. In both my painting and printmaking, drawing is the structure upon which everything else hangs. Keeping the images small, for me, increases the intensity.’

- Nigel Swift, 2014