03/04/25
Author: Elizabeth Roberts
DOCUMENTED BY: RIISE
A visual thinker at his core, Nick Herd often finds that the most inspiration comes from what he witnesses in daily life – sometimes totally mundane elements strike the deepest. From distinct colour combinations to capturing how light bends, nature is a driving force in his creative process.
Nick describes time spent sitting in his studio, simply looking, as a period of “charging up” before a burst of energy hits and a painting comes to life. His latest presentation in collaboration with Jerico Contemporary is titled Another Green World. And the pieces on show are heavily influenced by the location of his home studio on the South Coast of NSW.
He invited RIISE into the space to learn more about his work and witness the artist in action.
RIISE: Can you tell us a little about yourself and how you became an artist?
NH: My partner and I currently live in the smallish town of Kiama on the South Coast of NSW. It's fairly quiet with lots of space to breathe. Our place overlooks the ocean and green hills. It feels as if you always have one toe in the water. Our yard backs onto the coastal track … we can just open the gate and run down the hill to the ocean with our dog Happy.
I feel very privileged that I'm able to throw paint around daily. Throughout my life I had always felt like I was going down a slide and at the end was me becoming an artist. There were hints throughout my youth. I can still remember drawings I did as a child. All I had to do was open my eyes and accept what I am. I studied graphic design as I thought it sounded more like a 'real job'. In the end I turned to the brush as I couldn't handle being a puppet on a string. I just started painting one day and became obsessed with it. Maybe the biggest part to me being an artist is I hate being told what to do.
RIISE: What goes into your creative process? And where do you derive your inspiration from?
NH: All my work is derived from life. Whether it's sitting in front of me while I'm painting or something I've seen and put on a piece of paper. I don't have any rules to my process, it can change. I want to be surprised with what I've made and that comes with practicing letting go and making what I like to call 'happy mistakes' that I learn to leave and enjoy.
There's artists in history and contemporary artists I enjoy following. I really enjoy looking at certain Matisse works and imagining what he was feeling and looking at while making them. March Avery and her father Milton Avery are colourists I admire. And I find Rose Wylie's work very raw and honest – I think there's something really special about the authenticity.
It's good to look at others but it's also great to forget about them. It can be very easy to compare yourself, which isn't helpful.
RIISE: How do you begin a work?
NH: I enjoy detaching from my practice after intensely making a body of work for a show. Once I'm back in the studio I have no idea how I made certain works or breakthroughs in paintings. I can feel like an imposter, it's very humbling. A painting can sometimes start off stale and for me it only becomes a painting when I really let go of everything and destroy what I’ve done. It's when I'm so lost in what I'm doing, I'll be covered in oil paint head to toe, stepping on tubes and knocking over tubs of paint with every step I take. There's lots of scraping away and coating paint on top of one another. Once the ball starts rolling the painting just takes over.
RIISE: What are you currently working on?
NH: I’m currently working on my next solo show with Jerico Contemporary. It’s an off-site exhibition titled Another Green World and will take place in the oldest glasshouse in New South Wales – the Palm House at the Botanic Gardens in Sydney. It's the first series I’ve created since I moved into my new studio and I’ve been so inspired by the landscape. The studio is in my new house, which sits on a clifftop looking over the ocean, where the land merges into the water. This show is very reflective of that. And I think the glasshouse will be the perfect light-filled space to take the pieces in.
RIISE: How important is your studio space to your practice?
NH: I need space to breathe and think. It's about finding balance though and getting used to the feeling of a space. When you first start off things are clean and in their place, there's blank canvases and no paint on the walls and floor. You then start and make a painting. Then a few more come and they all start to make sense after a while. You develop this sort of nonsensical language in them. They all start holding hands in some sense. I'll quite often clean up the studio after all the chaos and put paint tubes back in their place and look at what I've created. It's quite a thrilling experience sitting in a clean studio looking at all this work you’ve made.
RIISE: Can you explain the common themes, concepts and subjects that run through your work?
NH: Still life has become a recurring subject matter for me. It's something that has become somewhat of a vessel for me to explore my direct experiences in this world.
RIISE: You make incredible use of colour in your work. Do you have a process for this or is it more experimental?
NH: I try, thank you. Colour is one of my most favourite things to play with and notice in the outside world. I think I'm quite fascinated with what colour can do. It's something that comes quite intuitively most of the time.
RIISE: How would you describe your work in a few words?
NH: They're like songs of energy imprinted in pigmented mud.
RIISE: Do you have a favourite piece you’ve done? Can you explain why?
NH: I have a giant sunflower painting at home that I decided to keep. My brother and I grew this sunflower stalk over summer a couple years ago. It was giant – almost like a tree. And there were twenty or so heads growing out of the stalk. The cockatoos started eating the heads so I cut it down and made a painting.
Nick Herd’s next solo exhibition – Another Green World – will be presented by Jerico Contemporary at the Palm House in the Botanic Gardens of Sydney 3–4 April 2025.
Documented By: RIISE
