Nigel Van Wieck
Tell us your story & who you are?
Look at my paintings, they tell you who I am
Where does your inspiration come from?
Inspiration is for amateurs, painters go to the studio everyday and paint; it’s work.
As a painter what is your opinion about collage and illustrations?
Many American painters were initially illustrators e.g. Homer and Hopper. There is no difference between
painting, collage, illustration or film; all media are involved with the same problem which is communicating
an idea visually. It’s all about creating images, the medium is a secondary concern.
Who is your role model ?
I don’t have a role model.
Do you think that paintings have rules ?
I think painters should be free to break the rules
and paint any way they want, but there are rules
when it comes to the judgment of the final work.
For example, a chef can use any ingredients and
cook any way he/she wants but if the meal turns
out to be inedible, it is a failure .
What is the connection between fathers
day and sailboats?
None other than it’s a nice thing do with your
father
What does the (flute player) painting rep-
resent?
There are moments in life when you are one with
the universe and that is what I was painting.
How will you draw yourself?
My work is me, therefore I am in every painting
What is a great painting component and why?
A great painting speaks to you; it communicates, it makes you see or experience something in a different way
and sometimes it will change your mind .
What do you try to concentrate on. in your paintings ?
An artist paints the object of their passion, in college I gave up painting and graduated as a kinetic artist. Ten
years later when I wanted to paint again I sat in front of a blank canvas and scratched my head. A few weeks
into this behavior, I opened an art book which opened on a double page spread of ‘The Allegory of an Artist’
by Vermeer. Instantly I saw that he painted light; I understood light as I had worked with light for ten years as a
kinetic artist, light was my passion. I started painting the next day.
I’m a modern narrative painter, I tell stories, make observations and ask questions. To do this I rely on my in-
tuition, I trust my instincts and let that happen. What does concern me are the formal problems in painting i.e.
composition line and color. My paintings are carefully constructed to make the viewer believe that what they
are seeing is real but it’s not. Reality is much better when it is imagined.
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