Devon artist gains international acclaim

Nigel Mason, a 63-year-old artist from Ilfracombe, Devon, has been gaining international acclaim in the art world with a solo exhibition of his work just finished at MIVA Fine Art gallery in Sweden.

Featuring over 40 oil paintings and 10 charcoal sketches, the exhibition – which ran from 5th – 11th August – saw art collectors flock to the prestigious gallery in Stockholm, which celebrates 30 years in the fine art industry this year.

With his first international solo show under his belt, Nigel’s star is firmly on the rise after just a year working as a professional artist.

Nigel burst onto the art scene in August last year when he entered IN:SIGHT 2015 – a campaign to nurture aspiring artists. Led by UK fine art publishers Washington Green, the campaign saw 20 finalists – whittled down from over 400 entrants – display their work in Birmingham’s International Convention Centre as part of a month long Summer Exhibition.

Following the exhibition, Nigel was one of only three artists to secure a publishing contract with Washington Green, and is now one of the company’s most popular originals artists.

From an early age, Nigel taught himself to paint and pursued art as a hobby until he decided to undertake a degree in Fine Art from Plymouth University when he was 38. He then went on to have a successful career teaching art at the North Devon College in Barnstaple.

Working in oil on canvas, Nigel paints a variety of landscapes, beach scenes, and figurative works inspired by his local area. He describes his artistic influences as Rembrandt, Sickert, Vuillard, Degas and Whistler.

Nigel explains the journey his career has taken in the past year: “When I was selected to exhibit in last year’s Summer Exhibition, I could not possibly have foreseen where this would lead. This past year with Washington Green has enabled me to work exclusively on my painting. I have been able to develop my personal practice in terms of quality of materials and presentation of work, and, most importantly, to find my own ‘voice’.

“Through Washington Green, I have taken commissions for collectors, attended promotional events, had interviews with media, written and given talks about my work and had limited editions of my work published – none of which I dared to dream would happen! I have had a blast this past year and am looking forward to all the next year brings.”

After the Stockholm exhibition, Nigel’s work will be displayed at the MIVA’s sister galleries in Malmo and Gothenburg.

In the UK, Nigel’s work is exclusively available to buy at Castle Fine Art galleries, Washington Green’s nationwide network of retail art galleries. He will be exhibiting at select galleries this autumn including Castle Fine Art, Exeter later this year.

For more information please see: www.castlegalleries.com