Thames Barges Painting

Nigel was born on the Isle of Wight where he first started to explore drawing and painting. Subsequently he made painting expeditions to France, Spain, Morocco, America and Japan. He has also had several murals commissioned in Britain and one in the United States. Between 1987 and 1990 he worked on his three year research project entitled ʻHistory of Shinjo Matsuriʼ, which culminated in a touring exhibition and lecture series that formed part of the education programme for the 'Japan Festival 1991'. Exhibition catalogue included a contribution from the psychoanalyst Marion Milner. He has worked as a Co-ordinator for International Relations linking cultural activities between Japan and the UK. Nigel was also invited by cultural authorities in Japan to create and coordinate an exhibition. The subsequent show was entitled ‘An Exhibition of works by eight British Artists (1919-1992)’. The exhibition was held in Northern Japan in 1992. In 1996 he helped conceive and coordinate 'Bridges' The Daiwa Foundation’s Visual Arts Touring Exhibition, which toured the UK, Europe and Japan. He also worked in association with Miles Richmond with the preliminary studies for the millennium mural project for the London South Bank University, London. Between 1998 and 2000 Nigel travelled along the Tokaido Road in Japan. There he made numerous drawings that formed the basis for a series of paintings that culminated in a touring exhibition and a lecture series during 2001-2 entitled 'The 53 Stations of the Tokaido Road'. Locations included Hertfordshire University and The Barbican Centre. Nigel also lectured at the British Museum as part of this lecture series. This exhibition was part of the UK’s ‘Japan Festival 2001’. Exhibition catalogue included a contribution from the painter Miles Richmond. Nigel has given lectures in the UK and Japan, titles have included History of Shinjo Matsuri (1992) Aspects of Contemprary Art (1998) The 53 stations of the Tokaido Road (2001) and David Bomberg's Painting Legacy (2015). His lecture on the Tokaido given in 2013 for The Japan Society was subsequently published the following year as an article in The Japan Society's Proceedings publication.