St Leonards exhibition inspired by Derek Jarman's garden

The show will be running from Thursday, August 18 to Wednesday, September 28 on Thursdays to Sundays from 12 noon to 8 pm at Oscar's on the Square, Lower Promenade, Warrior Square, St Leonards on Sea.

Nick said: “During the relaxing of rules after the first lockdown, a friend of mine treated me to a day out to Prospect Cottage in Dungeness as he knew I was intrigued and fascinated by the place. We chose a lovely day to visit and I was amazed by the beauty and colours surrounding Derek's old house.

“In such a barren, eerie, deserted landscape this seemed like a surreal explosion of life in the middle of nowhere.

"I used photos that I took on the day plus images I picked up from a book called Derek Jarman's Garden that was kindly given to me by some friends for a birthday.

“On the same day we also visited a very old church in Romney where Derek's grave lies.

"Even in death, Derek's tombstone stood out... a big black monolith similar to the one in Kubrick's 2001, one big slate of black polished marble with only Derek's signature on it, no dates or anything else, and just a few pebbles from Dungeness scattered around by previous admirers.

“On the day, we found the pubs weren't open, but we did manage to get some lovely fish and chips from Derek's favourite chippy and ate them in the car park.

“The paintings of Derek's garden are all watercolours and gel pen, and I produced them while caring for a dear friend of mine who had unfortunately broken her leg.”

Nick was born in 1968 in Newcastle from Irish parents and adopted at an early age by an English-Australian couple. He grew up and was educated in France and America.

He worked in various fields, such as forestry, and as a labourer, care-worker and chef, before discovering art 12 years ago. He studied for a foundation diploma for which he got a merit and then a foundation degree for which he got a distinction.

From the outset, Nick has found his creativity extremely helpful as a coping mechanism for long-term bouts of depression, he says, He tends to work creating different series which have included crucifixions, self-portraits, dreams, fish, B-movies, the south of England and France, poems and lyrics etc.

Nick describes his style as bright and colourful, “at times surreal, darkly humorous, melancholic, romantic or provocative.” He relies heavily on found objects, glitter, strings and threads, high-gloss varnish, mirrors, or anything else he thinks might help the overall effect of the piece he is working on.

“My aim is to overwhelm the viewer and also make him or her smile.

"If I can do this, I feel it is a job well done.

"The creation of the work is essential, showing it to the general public is good – and sales are just an extra bonus.”

Nick often gives his profits to various charities, which have included the Cystic Fibrosis Trust, MIND, The Alzheimer’s Society, Seaview and St Vincent de Paul.