5th August - 2nd September 2023

Nigel Murray is a London based artist whose work is rooted in a deep love of drawing, especially from direct observation. This leads to a constant search for evocative shapes, patterns and colours that capture a sense of place or mood.

Nigel spent his formative teenage years in the tiny hamlet of Tollard Royal. He spent many hours walking the landscape "forming an artistic obsession with the distinctive shapes of the hills and valleys, and especially the clumps of trees seemingly adrift in the fields". He was constantly sketching and trying to capture the essence of the surroundings; the shapes, patterns and forms of this very English topography of ancient woodlands and chalk downlands.

Following his artistic training at Salisbury College of Art, Nigel went on to study at Harrow and Camberwell. He worked firstly as an illustrator of children’s and educational books and then as a teacher of art and design, whilst continuing his own artistic practice.

Nigel has exhibited his work at various places, including the RA, the Mall Galleries (New English Art club and the Pastel Society) and the Sydney Cooper Gallery. Nigel was one of the artists on Sky Landscape Artist of the Year 2023 from Blackpool Pleasure Beach, broadcast on Febuary 1st 2023.

Over the years he has returned regularly to the Cranborne Chase and it has remained one of his artistic obsessions. The current exhibition comes out of a renewed engagement with this wonderfully inspiring landscape. It is hoped that visitors to the show will enjoy the variety of approaches made through different media and may also experience a 'sense of place'.

Meet the Artist - if you want to find out more about the inspiration behind this latest collection of work, Nigel will be in the Gallery on 5th, 15th and 17th August and 1st September between 11am and 3pm.

Find out more about Nigel Murray by following the links below...

Website