Riversdale College of Technology in Liverpool to study Marine Radio and Radar Technology in order to become a Radio Officer in the Merchant Navy. On leaving college, he was part of the Transglobe Expedition 1979-1982, led by Sir Ranulph Fiennes that was the first to circumnavigate the globe by land, sea and ice along the Greenwich Meridian.
It was during this expedition that Nigel first began drawing and sketching. He lived abroad for many years, painting watercolours and oils. As he developed his talents he sent some of his work to his sister Sandra, pretending that they were by a friend and asking if they were good enough to be included in an exhibition during the Maytime Festival. He was thrilled when she said she was very impressed with the paintings which were exhibited in Dundalk in 1985. Nigel moved to London in 1989 and started painting professionally in 2003. His work is now in many private collections around the world.
He recently completed a commissioned portrait of the international Cuban ballet dancer Carlos Acosta, which has been has been accepted into the prestigious juried show of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters. | This annual exhibition showcases work by established artists alongside new contemporary portrait painters selected from open submission.
Over 200 portraits by 100 artists will be hung in this
Carlos Acosta, Oil on linen, 48" x 42"
exhibition at the Mall Galleries, The Mall (Off Trafalgar Square), from May 3 to 18.
- MARGARET RODDY
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