Nicholas Elliott

My father was a draughtsman and when I was very young I would watch him drawing. He moved his pencil across the paper with such ease and how these graceful actions resulted in a recognisable object entranced me. I wanted to be able to do that. So at school I always looked forward to Art Class. I loved everything about it; the art room with its big windows, pictures stuck on the walls and pictures on drawing boards leaning against the walls, pots of paint, tins of coloured chalks, pencils, brushes, the piles of paper, old easels, aprons smeared with colour, the smell of the room and the pure joy of creating a picture the whole thing seduced me. Art was my best subject at school and so after my A levels I went on to take a foundation art course prior to doing a degree. Six months into the foundation course my mother decided I should leave to get a “Proper Job” For the next twenty years I worked in magazine publishing and marketing. I hated every minute of it but stuck at it through a sense of duty to my parents. Ironically I was successful and finally had my own marketing company in London but loathed the stress and pressure. Finally a major disagreement with my business partner tipped me over the edge. I felt that “enough was enough...

University of Hard Knocks - Self Taught