Beth Nicholas is an exciting young British artist working predominantly with ink on paper.
Her delicate and enchanting work drifts between bold blues and gold and a fragility that is difficult to define. One of the most exciting aspects of working with a young artist is never quite knowing exactly what they are going to do next and with Beth this is certainly the case. Each new piece I see seems to evolve from within her own particular practice and inspiration.
“The foundation of my current body of work lies in the Japanese aesthetic of Wabi-Sabi: exploring the beauty found within transience. From finding a rotting garment by a stream to a stream of consciousness, my current collection travels through ethereal, abstract landscape style paintings into figurative ink drawings that investigate the subconscious.
Working with blown ink, oil bar and water washes I am pursuing the organic fluidity of a natural process where the ink finds a path of it’s own through resistance before being diluted and seeping through into the rest of the canvas.
My work is extremely cathartic. I spend hours and hours writing streams of consciousness, which for me, as a dyslexic, can at times be a huge struggle, but at other times the thoughts flow and the time flies. My work therefore is about time and energy and expresses and exposes me as a person.”
