Up to 15% off artworks - must end Tuesday

See offers3

Get up to 15% off full price artworks with our April offers, but be quick - this must end soon!

15% OFF full price of $695+

code: 15APRIL expires in

Apply coupon
10% OFF full price

code: 10APRIL expires in

Apply coupon
Up to 50% OFF selected artworks
Shop now
Terms apply

Nicola McLean

Joined Artfinder: March 2015

Artworks for sale: 42

(20)

United Kingdom

Updates from Nicola McLean's studio

  • On the road again

    On the road again

    In September 2016 my husband and I spent three weeks driving from Chicago to Santa Monica on Route 66. It was the most incredible trip and we saw so much along the way from the kitcsh Americana of old cars and roadside attractions to the amazing natural wonders of the Grand Canyon, the Painted Desert and the Petrified Forest. It provided so much inspiration that I decided to do a series of paintings called 'Moments on the Mother Road' inspired by the snapshots we took along the way. I sort of started at the end with this one as it's in the last State we went to - a place called Amboy in California. I'm really enjoying this series as I get to relive the road trip with every brush stroke.

    28 April 2017
    Peaceful - the Peace Bridge in Derry/Londonderry

    Peaceful - the Peace Bridge in Derry/Londonderry

    This was the little miniature I worked on recently just before I put it into a wooden box frame. I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed working on such a small scale and given that it sold within hours of being listed in my Artfinder shop, it seems that minis are popular with other folk too! I'm planning on painting more of these little cityscapes - I love twinkling lights reflecting on water.

    05 April 2017
    Peaceful - a miniature cityscape

    Peaceful - a miniature cityscape

    This is my most recent painting. It's been a long while since I last painted in miniature and I was looking through my reference photos and came across a lovely one of the Peace Bridge in Derry/Londonderry that my husband took when we visited home a while back. This is a little close up section of the painting - I use tiny brushes designed for painting those little model soldiers/boats/trains etc!

    02 April 2017
    My new mahl stick

    My new mahl stick

    I had been thinking about getting a mahl stick for a while as it's useful for keeping your arm steady and off the wet paint on the canvas but most of the ones I'd seen had suede leather toppers and I don't use animal products where feasibly possible. It was actually thanks to a review on Amazon complaining because the topper which had been described as leather actually wasn't real leather at all that I was able to order this one!

    24 March 2017
    Art postcards for children at Syrian Refugee Camps

    Art postcards for children at Syrian Refugee Camps

    I missed the deadline for the Syrian Refugee Camp postcard project so was delighted to hear that it was extended as the children are really enjoying receiving the postcards and using them to spark their own creative projects. I printed a few of my paintings on to watercolour postcard paper and wrote a little quote on the back along with my name and one word such as 'love', 'dream', 'hope', and 'believe'. I also decided to laminate the cards just to make them a little bit sturdier. We were asked to take selfies with our art and then photos could be taken with the children who receive the postcards and matched up with the selfies. So, here's mine. I love the idea that art can bring even a little joy to these children whose lives have been turned upside down because adult humans just can't seem to co-exist peacefully and I hope mine bring a smile to some little faces.

    01 March 2017
    Frame by frame...

    Frame by frame...

    Well, after thinking my temporary contract with the animal shelter was coming to an end in January, I was asked to extend it for another three months and I just couldn't say no! I'm down to three mornings a week plus my other part time job so I now have two full days a week to spend in the art shed - I just need to learn to manage my time better so I can make the most of what little time I do have for painting. I started a new river rocks painting this week and it's the first to be filmed with my new GoPro camera. I've got the camera all set up and it's (hopefully) clicking away as I paint so that at the end I can put it all together in a time lapse video (and when I say 'I' I of course mean my husband who is much better at the technical stuff than me!)

    16 February 2017
    The Art Shed

    The Art Shed

    This is my gorgeous wee art shed, made single-handedly by my husband out of mostly recycled and upcycled materials - my favourite feature is the washing machine windows! This was during the summer when the garden was in full bloom - roll on those summer days again!

    27 January 2017
    Between the lines

    Between the lines

    This was a painting I did a few months ago and one of my favourite animal paintings to do so far. The reference photo came from an excellent artists' resource website called 'paint my photo' where photographers give their permission for their photos to be used by artists - it's a great go to site when you're stuck for a reference photo - there aren't too many zebras wandering around the far north of Scotland!

    27 January 2017

    Introducing myself (the first and probably last time I get in front of the camera!)

    I'm planning to start making more time lapse videos of my paintings so I gave my You Tube channel a make over (as it's been sorely neglected) and thought I'd start off with a little clip introducing myself and just saying hello.

    11 January 2017
    My wee art assistants (sort of!)

    My wee art assistants (sort of!)

    My two westies kept me company in my art shed today but I suspect they were more interested in my wee heater than my paintings!

    08 January 2017
    The night shift

    The night shift

    Wow, I've just realised I haven't posted in my 'me at work' section since May! What with one thing and another (one thing being an amazing three week road trip across America on Route 66 and another thing being asked to work four mornings a week from October to the end of January at the animal shelter where I normally volunteer and those four mornings coupled with the two full days in my regular part time job resulting in me having much less time to actually paint!) Anyhoo, I'm trying to get out to my art shed on the one day a week I have off but with the short winter days, the lack of decent daylight is always a challenge. That's when my daylight lamp comes into its own - it means I can stay out in my wee shed painting even after the sun goes down (at half past three!!) This may prove to be the longest I've ever spent on one painting because of my lack of spare time right now but come the end of January I plan to be back out in my art shed making up for lost time!

    29 December 2016
    Hard at work

    Hard at work

    This is me working on my highland cow painting which I finally finished - just got to get some photos to post it to my Artfinder shop!

    07 May 2016