I’m exploring texture, choice and movement in my latest mini-series, which consists of three oil paintings on floral fabric. Each painting ponders the space between sleep/awake and here/there, taking you on a journey through dreamland. I’m imaging the paintings as an interchangeable three-part journey that follows yellow-faced figures through a forest. The journey is the destination and each painting can be interchanged as Beginning, Middle and End. The first painting is finished (medium size) and I continue to work on the remaining two. I am hoping to create a collection of paintings that is cohesive, yet can maintain a powerful, dreamlike presence when separated.

I started showing my paintings with New Blood Art, whilst I was studying my MFA. It has been an incredible platform for me; introducing my work to new collectors, plus getting to know the community of New Blood Artists. I am so happy to share that I have been invited to join the Masters section of the website. Here is the official written update by Creative Director Sarah Ryan. 

“Our Masters Section profiles our more experienced artists, who have graduated through our space over
the last decade; they are accomplished within their field, often having
won or been shortlisted for a notable Art Prize, and held regular solo
shows. Their unique and identifiable style, and consistently compelling
body of work, has attracted a strong collector base, including some
noteworthy international buyers.We are delighted to welcome Nicola Wiltshire into our Masters section. In August we featured Nicola in our investable art section and she has been selling very well over the last 18 months - since she was listed as an artist to watch in The Guardian, she
has  held 4 solo exhibitions, participated in a number of group shows,
received the Pittenweem Art Festival’s Bursary Award and held a
six-month Artist Residency at Halley Stevensons, who manufacture waxed
cotton for clients such as Barbour from their Dundee factory.  More
recently, she was selected as one of twelve artists to take part in a
public art project in Dundee’s West End, as well as being an
invited artist for the Reformation Street Art Project, also in Dundee
(both part of the city-wide regeneration following the opening of the
V&A Design Museum). Her largest series of 2018, a collection of
still lifes, has been particularly successful at capturing the tactile
qualities of the fabric she paints on - a trademark style - in these
paintings, fabrics such as Toile de Jouy, patterned linen and William
Morris-inspired prints become decorative vases for high-pigment
representations of house plants and seasonal wildflowers. These
paintings, along with her portraits and landscapes, have attracted a
loyal collector base; many of whom own several of her paintings in their
collection. She continues to paint with integrity - using high quality
oil paints, many that she makes by hand in her studio and is
exploring other traditional processes such as making pastel crayons.
It’s a joy to see her career advancing.”

I am incredibly lucky that my paintings attract repeat collectors, but
this is definitely the largest collection of my work to date. Eleven of
my paintings hang in this beautiful white cube house, many of which were
bought during my MFA exhibition in 2015. I’ve scaled down in size a bit
since then, but am still using intense colour on fabric! You can view
most of my recent paintings at https://newbloodart.com/artist/nicola-wiltshire or via my website!