Nick Kelly Interview
- laurajslater
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
Nick Kelly is an author and painter whose work uses a variety of medias. In 2024 Nick published a book, "Slow Lane to Dungeness" which is a journey through art and thought along the Kent Coast.
The work currently exhibited at She Rose in The Artist's Window depicts this serene walking journey.
- Where did your painting journey start, what do you think has drawn you to this medium?
My painting journey started when I was at school in Faversham. I always enjoyed going out with the art class to sketch the boats down by the Creek and the houses in Abbey Street, just by the school. When I began to travel for work and pleasure, I always took a sketch pad. I spent many years in the Middle East, the pale colours of desert and sea, the simple mud-brick buildings, vast empties spaces and skies prompting me to paint initially in watercolour on paper and later acrylic on canvas.
- How do you feel your art has changed or progressed in the last few years?
My work was mostly about large open spaces - sea, sand, sky. I hardly ever included figures. However, I somehow felt the need to include people - their relationship with the surrounding landscape. This became more my style as I moved back to Whitstable. My paintings from then on included swimmers and paddlers, strollers and hikers. One of my pleasures is sitting in street cafes observing people and capturing them on paper. Perhaps the main thing that has changed over the years is a move towards larger pieces that attempt convey an emotion - moody skies, lonely figures.
- The subject matter in your work reflects where you live and work, tell us about how the landscape and the coast influences you?
The landscape around where I live influences me a great deal. I love the freedom of walking in all weathers and I try to show this in my work. The elements play a large part in my paintings - I feel equally moved to paint the dark greys of winter as much as the bright blues of summer. Although I love the countryside in Kent I always feel drawn to the coast. The sense of freedom, adventure, letting your mind wander, is always more vivid by the sea, I feel. I’ll probably always be a sea and coast artist.
- Do other painters and the techniques they use inspire your work, who has been an influence to you? Who are your biggest artistic influences?
I’m definitely inspired by many artists. My first love is Turner. I can spend hours at Tate Britain gazing at the late Turners. Some of my favourites are the watercolours he made in Venice. He captures the light in the lagoon perfectly - all in a simple wash of pure colour and few brush strokes to indicate a campinale or duomo emerging in the mist. I’ve always loved the Impressionists - Monet, Cezanne, Degas, but most of all Matisse. I love the reds and blues he uses. I would love to paint more in those colours but somehow I revert to more pastel tones. I’m very fond of the St. Ives artists. The whole story of how they gathered in Cornwall always fascinates me. Ben Nicholson, Christopher Wood, and later Patrick Heron and Peter Lanyon with the extraordinary glider paintings. I can easily spend a week wandering around St. Ives and along the south west coast path in the bleakness of January, knowing that so much wonderful creativity happened there.
- Your book “Slow Lane to Dungeness” is a walking journey along the Kent Coast, illustrated with your work. What were some of the most memorable parts of the experience of doing this?
Slow Lane to Dungeness was a very rewarding experience. I wanted to get my thoughts down on paper and collect together the work that I had done over the past five years or so. The most memorable moments were really towards the beginning and end of the walk. I hadn’t really spent much time on Sheppey before and as I walked around the entire coast I grew more fond of it. At one point in Leysdown, having spent the day sketching in the remoteness of Shellness, I waited for the bus back to Sheerness. The bus never came! I spent seven hours with half a dozen others at the bus stop. We formed a friendship of sorts, forced to make the best of it. Lovely people. Towards the end I found a wonderful calmness and peace of mind on Romney marshes - walking for miles and being totally at one with nature. The fourteen churches on the marshes were all perfect in their own way. Dungeness itself reinforced itself as my favourite place of all - and the reward of fish and chips at The Pilot!
