Born in 1968, Nick Holly grew up in St Thomas, Swansea with Kilvey Hill, the banks of the River Tawe, the docks and the ruined copper works all around him as inspiration. He studied at the Swansea School of Art and Design gaining his first solo exhibition in 1998. His earlier work depicted scenes of traditional Welsh life and landscapes but has, more recently, started to incorporate people into his paintings. These convey the life of the communities in which he lives. With his interest in capturing scenes of gritty Welsh life, Nick Holly has become known as a chronicler of urban life in post-industrial Wales. Reviewers have compared his work to L.S.Lowry.

As well as figuring personal memories, Nick's paintings have moved to encompass images from the last century and his urban landscapes have extended to include scenes from New York and Paris. Nick Holly's palette consists mainly of blues and greys with small touches of red that draw the viewer's eye into the painting. Other signal elements that occur in his work and are now familiar to those who know his work are things such as yellow taxis, fire hydrants, the Chrysler building and the Brooklyn Bridge.

Nick Holly sees his work as simple and unpretentious and do not hold any deep, hidden message. He will find something that is interesting, no matter where it is in the world, and will capture it in his paintings, be it children at play to bustling street scenes. Two simple dogs - a black labrador cross and a black Highland terrier have also made his way regularly into his paintings and have become a well known trademark of Nick's.

As well as exhibiting at Red Rag Gallery, Nick Holly has exhibited widely throughout England and Wales.

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