Nick Vivian is a British painter whose work is rooted in colour, surface, and the direct physical act of painting. His paintings draw on elemental aspects of the natural world – particularly light and atmosphere – not as literal subjects, but as a means of exploring sensation and mood through paint.

Working primarily in oil on canvas, Vivian applies paint directly with a knife, building dense, broken surfaces through a wet-on-wet process. The paintings are developed in a single, continuous session, where immediacy and responsiveness are central and chance plays an active role. Drawing is kept to a minimum, allowing compositions to emerge directly on the canvas.

Light and shade in Vivian’s paintings are carried by colour itself, with depth emerging from the interaction of hues across the surface. Built through contrast and the accumulation of paint, the work retains a strong physical presence that remains closely tied to the act of making.

Since leaving art school, Vivian has worked as a full-time professional artist. His career has included large-scale mural commissions in the Middle East alongside sustained studio practice in the UK. He is currently based in south-west London, where he continues to focus on painting. His work has been exhibited widely in solo and group exhibitions and is held in private collections worldwide.