About
In 2004, following a successful career in the insurance industry, Nick Giles sold his share in the family business in order to pursue his creative leanings, which until then had focused on interior and garden design in his spare time. Based at Robinwood Art School in Ayr, Scotland and under the tutelage of Joan Lawson, the well-known Ayrshire artist, he immersed himself in the pain and pleasure of learning to paint.
His enthusiasm and latent talent saw Nick develop his own painterly style in a remarkably short time, and requests and commissions for his work soon followed. Nick saw then that an artistic career was a realistic prospect. Less than one year after starting to paint, Nick was selling his original paintings through Arran Art Gallery on the beautiful Isle of Arran, nestled on the West Coast of Scotland. This early commercial success allowed Nick to convert a local DIY store into one of Scotlands largest galleries which now stocks the works of over 80 artists.
Today Nick is the gallerys best-selling artist, offering both original paintings and a large series of popular limited edition prints. In 2007 Nick moved to Sydney to paint under the tutelage of Sydney artist Sarah Aylward. Whilst in Australia, Nick divides his time between painting and promoting other Australian artists in Australia and in the UK. Nick returns to Scotland in the spring, stopping off around the world and seeking out the local artwork and natural beauty of various countries and cities to augment the influences behind his painting.
As many artists past and present draw on Scotland's and Australias beauty and wildlife to inspire them, so it is with Nick, whose character is reflected in his interpretation of his surroundings, resulting in bold, colourful, vibrant and sometimes humorous work. Nick cites the Scottish colourists J.D. Fergusson and F.C. Cadell as his biggest influences, as well as his mentors, Joan Lawson and Sarah Aylward. Nick now paints full-time using a range of media, focusing on Australian and Scottish landscapes, Australian and Scottish wild animals on canvas using acrylic paints, as well as abstract works on glass using a range of mixed media.
