Beachcomers by Nick Coley

Beachcomers by Nick Coley
Beachcomers by Nick Coley

Under a brooding sky they collect what they can to survive. This moody yet electric composition by Nick Coley presents to us a brooding sky and a red-hot desert. Abstracted figures wander along this piece – who are they? Where have they come from? Imbued with red-hot urgency, the cool blue skies give us a sigh of relief.

This moody yet electric composition by Nick Coley presents to us a brooding sky and a red-hot desert. We can feel the heat radiating from this piece, and the artist’s awareness of colour theory is prominent in the way that this palette glows from the surface. Coley was born in the Midlands but moved to Yorkshire at a young age, where his love for drawing began early on. His artistic career began to take shape when he discovered glass as a surface he could paint on and manipulate, using a toolkit of brushes, etching tools, and most controversially, power tools. Coley has developed a signature method of working on one side of glass or Perspex, with the final image presented in reverse on the other side. This combination allows the artist to create dynamic strokes on the surface, which respond and change with the light. “Artists have to take a gamble sometimes… a leap of faith, and they must want to do original work” Coley is obsessed with nature and his surroundings, using painting, and drawing to capture information to expand onto larger surfaces. In ‘Beachcomers’, abstracted figures wander along the bottom half of this piece, defined by brash black outlines – who are they? Where have they come from? This piece is imbued with a red-hot urgency, extinguished by cooler blue skies which are full of texture and grit. The swooping motifs guide our eye along the painting, from left to right and back again, telling us a story. Both figurative and abstract, Coley’s works are dynamic and full of life. Full of visual juxtapositions, they have a special way of challenging the eye and pulling us in – the more we observe this piece, the more jumps from the surface. 'Beachcomers' would make an exciting and vibrant addition to any contemporary art collection, and would bring a splash of colour to any space it resides.