Nicola Coutts is an artist who could not find much time to devote to her art until the beginning of the lockdown. She has a day job, but has now produced work which will be exhibited at Whitespace Gallery from Saturday.

And her work has sparked interest from a New Town gallery which will also exhibit her work at their Festival show, with another in the Borders also keen to include her paintings in their exhibition later in the year.

Her paintings are inspired by plants and flowers, with a strong focus on colour,  texture and pattern. She uses mixed media including oil paint, inks and sprays on board. 

Nicola said: “When the pandemic hit, and we were locked in, I started to paint again thanks to there being no commute to my day job.

“For many years I had been inspired by the microscopic images of plant cells. During lockdown I visited gardens and parks in my local area, took photographs and created simple prints which inspired this new series of paintings.  I have been focussing on the appearance of plants and flowers with a strong emphasis on colour and texture.

I like to shift between abstraction and reality in my pieces, and really enjoy experimenting with surface – especially shiny and matt finishes. With this show, I hope visitors will enjoy looking at images filled with colour,  pattern and texture to bring them closer to nature.”

Closer to Nature
New paintings by Nicola Coutts. 
Whitespace Gallery,
76 East Crosscauseway, EH8 9HQ
Open 11AM-5PM, 28 and 29 May 2022.

Nicola Coutts, Persian Stars, 2021. Oil and mixed media on board, 83x83cm.
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Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.