I first saw Derek Nice's artwork at a show in the Victoria art gallery in 1998 in an exhibition called 'Sea Dreams - Art Salutes the Boat'. I went to the show because it contained work by Alfred Wallis, the Cornish Primitive painter whose work I had always admired, and I wanted to see originals, not photographs in books! I wasn't disappointed by Wallis's work, but I was blown away by the work of local artist Derek Nice.
I visited him at home in his studio during a Somerset Art Week, and bought a piece from him. This went on to inspire me to think of boats as a subject matter and use the driftwood which I had collected over the years! Click on the Derek Nice link, at the bottom of this post, for further details and to see what I made!
This year, I discovered, via the
Somerset Art Works Open Studios brochure, that he had moved to Wells, only a few miles from Shepton. It was great to see his work again after many years. I loved his collages, paintings, use of text within them, and, of course, the boats! Above, he was pictured in his new studio, which has been converted from his garage.
He now has another subject matter - angels! Many people love and believe in guardian angels so he hopes that his angels are spreading some happiness around! He has done a series of large free standing ones for himself and has sold an enormous one to a church! A lot of his work is made from found and reclaimed materials which are preserved, and often enhanced, before being recycled into works of art...
The pics above show Derek's delightful garden, complete with a Shepherd's Hut, sculptures, and some of his angels - inside and out!
