Constructivist painter Christopher Nicholson

Hi Chris, please introduce yourself

I am a painter and sculptor from Concord, MA, USA. I painted in oils in high school and relegated myself to sketching afterwards. I have taken up painting again in middle age.

What’s the driving force behind your creative work?

I am interested in exploring basic human emotions. I experience art from a sensual and emotional standpoint, and I work in abstract form, because doing so strips away associations with known objects so that one is left with pure feeling. I paint to give myself to these emotions unhindered; be it despair, joy, anger, etc. The repetition of this work allows me to plumb them, to become part of something greater than myself. My aim is for those who experience these paintings to take a similar journey.

Are your interested in a specific style?

I suppose my work would fit under Constructivism. Someone said that he thought one of my paintings had been done in Russia in the 1920’s.

Are you working full time as an artist and if so, how did you get there?

Yes. I just threw myself into it. I got done compromising with my life.

Do you have any tips for other artists based on your experience?

Take chances and don’t work to please or impress others.

What inspires you and why?

Intense feelings drive my work. These days, alienation is the prime one. I paint when words cannot adequately express them, which is pretty much always.

What is your ideal setting for making art?

I am lucky to have a nice studio that gets tons of northern light. It’s cold in the winter, though.

Which of your art pieces is your favorite and why?

It always changes for me. Right now, “Folded Paper No. 16” is my favorite.

Do you have to motivate yourself and if so, how?

When one works independently, it’s important to create situations in which there is a deadline (gallery showing, conference submissions, etc.) or, in lieu of that, inventing deadlines for oneself.

What would you do different today, if you had to start all over again?

I would have fully committed myself to painting and sculpting right out of college.

What would be the project of your dreams?

A commission to create a large outdoor sculpture for a public institution.

Your objectives for the future?

My goals are to paint large pieces (~6′ x 4′) so that the viewer would have a more intimate relationship with my work. I also aim to create sculptures of steel and aluminum.

Christopher Nicholson ★ Artist resume

I am an abstract artist living and working in Concord, MA, USA. Like most painters, i started in the traditional vein of sketching and painting landscapes, buildings and people. I have been painting in my current style for the last several years.

Thank you, Chris.

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Instagram: @cnicholsonart1

Web: cnicholsonart.com