Nigel Proud is an artist who specialises in portraits of people and pets.
BACKGROUND
With a new website in development, Nigel was looking to raise his profile, to attract more commissions and opportunities to exhibit and sell his work.
Nigel wanted his story to be in the “first person” (“I”), so it was even more important that Nigel’s own voice came through.
THE PROCESS
Nigel and I met over Zoom, for a conversation which lasted about one hour.
Prior to our meeting, I had visited Nigel’s website and his social media profiles to see what he was sharing about his work, and about himself.
Whilst I had in mind some areas which I wanted to explore with Nigel, I was also interested to see how our conversation developed.
We began by talking about how Nigel’s love of drawing and painting developed, and how he came to specialise in portraits of pets, and then of people.
As well as talking about his work, Nigel talked a lot about the conversations he had with people he met at exhibitions, or who commissioned a portrait. A big part of Nigel’s work recently has been the “NHS Heroes” project, and then “Shepley Heroes” - Nigel’s own project to recognise the work of local people during the COVID-19 pandemic. The idea of art connecting people was something we explored further in our conversation, and it became a big part of Nigel’s story.
Following our meeting, I wrote two drafts of Nigel’s story - a longer and a shorter version. I watched the recording of our conversation so that I could capture the words that Nigel uses and the way that he expresses himself.
After Nigel had read the drafts, we had another meeting over Zoom to make sure he was completely happy with it and to see if he wanted to make any changes.
NIGEL’S FEEDBACK
`I have been a full-time portrait artist since November 2019, and having not run a business before, was really struggling with how to write my story and artist statement. A friend who has previously worked with Clair recommended that I asked her for help, and it was just what I needed.
When we think about our own story and start writing, we can get too wrapped up in it and miss or forget our achievements. Clair asked me questions which followed a logical path and helped me to remember the journey that I have taken so far. It also highlighted certain areas that I was drawn to and kept going back to.
The result is that I now have my story which can be used on my website as an artist statement, ‘about’ page, magazines, advertising, exhibitions, social media and C.V.
At the outset I asked Clair if she could write it so that people could get the essence of me, so that they could get a feel for the type of person I was and who they would like to work with. Clair has achieved this and much more.
Thank you Clair for a very positive experience.’
EXTRACTS FROM NIGEL’S STORY
“One of the things I love about art is the way it can communicate with people. It can express something that it’s difficult to say in words. It’s also a great way of connecting people. I love chatting with people over my easel at our local art exhibition, and we often end up talking about their own paintings, more than about mine.”
“When I get a commission I always ask people to send their favourite photo for me to work with. I like it to be a photo that means something to the person in it, and also to the person who took it. Maybe they’ve seen an emotion at that moment and that’s why they’ve taken the photo. The portrait captures that memory.”
If you would like to work with me to find YOUR story, find out more here or contact me to chat.
Visit Nigel’s website at https://nigelsportraits.co.uk/ Or follow him on Facebook and Instagram.