Nichola Martin: 2007 Scholar

  • How did the experience affect you as an individual? Being awarded the John Kinross Scholarship made a huge difference to...
    Nichola Martin, Untitled (Figures and Bike). RSA Collection.

    How did the experience affect you as an individual?

    Being awarded the John Kinross Scholarship made a huge difference to my education by allowing me the time to focus on my career as an artist. It allowed me to be more selective with how I spent my free time, enabling me to spend 2 months on my own discovering the city of Florence and its surrounding areas. Living in Italy on my own, although sometimes lonely, I found my time extremely liberating. I was no-one's partner, no-one's mother, no-one's daughter... I was just me. With an endless supply of galleries exhibiting the very best of Renaissance art, which I am a huge fan of, it is without a doubt these works had a huge impact on my life as an artist and paved the way for myself to focus toward my future.

     

    What was the impact on your practice?

    Having already studied the works of the Italian Renaissance whilst at Art College, it was humbling to view them at first hand in the flesh. I spent hours in galleries sketching & memorising the rich colour palette these masters had accomplished. It was these rich colours and meticulous brush strokes I was eager to try with my own practice which I continue to do to this day.
  • What would you say the long-term impact has been on yourself and you work? This scholarship has helped me to...
    Nichola Martin, A History of Art II, oil on canvas, 50 x 90 cm.

    What would you say the long-term impact has been on yourself and you work?

    This scholarship has helped me to achieve my goals so far. I have higher goals to achieve and I look forward to striving toward them. Being awarded the scholarship, I feel, put me in good stead when approaching galleries to exhibit my work, which has greatly helped my career. It has given me the confidence to become an art tutor, host demonstrations and start my own privately run art classes. In my personal life this scholarship has not only given me the confidence, but also the drive and ambition to seek new ventures, visit new places and to be more spontaneous with my future.
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