Posts by Nicholas Wilton

There is this really cool shop in Portland that I accidentally wandered into last week. At first blush it just looks like a metal junk shop but peering in the window as I went past, I realized that this just wasn’t any old junk shop. This shop was only selling old metal letters, the kind…

Beginning a painting of any kind of artistic expression is always hard. It is like that blank page when nothing has been written yet. The emptiness can be intimidating. It scares me sometimes. Personally, I would prefer to begin with something that has already been started. Everyone has a way of approaching his or her…

I’ve been painting a lot on canvas and noticed that some of the most interesting parts occur on the edges, where I’m working with less control. Taking my hand out of the process and letting the materials be themselves brings in a sense of play and is so refreshing.

Would you like to be creative whenever you want? I would. Is it possible? What are the optimal conditions for creativity? If we knew, it would make the whole affair of making art so much easier. Sometimes I feel creative and sometimes not. Often, instead of making art, I end up reading emails. Or, right…

I like to start multiple pieces at once – it encourages me to work larger and helps inform where I should go next with each piece. How do you start?