Coogee Rooftops

Nicola Moirs’ work celebrates Sydney urban landscape, fabricating the everyday elements that we don’t see – such as telephone poles, into rhythmic marks that dance throughout her compositions.

In recent works Moir has shifted her choice of materials to using watercolour. She has refrained from using watercolour in a traditional sense, opting for a vivacious and vibrant use and depth of colour. Her mark-making is energetic, with a hint of oriental origins, made with a confidence and boldness, refreshingly rare in watercolour images.

In short, Moirs’ work captures typical suburban Australian life. The buildings, the tree-lined roads, the colours and the light are all indigenous elements that every Australian from Sydney can relate to; feeling a comfortable connection and sense of belonging.

Watsons Bay California Bungalow

In her own words

What makes you want to paint?
It is amazing how the simple questions can be the most challenging! I suppose the core reason I want to paint is for the emotional release it can give me. Often if I feel frustrated, then I feel impelled to paint and on finishing the piece I get a sensation of fulfillment and achievement. So perhaps, for me, painting is like having a massage or going to a therapist. It just makes me feel better.

Bronte Pole

When people come to your exhibitions how do you want people to feel when they’ve left?
It has taken me a long time to have the confidence to do the art that I want. I believe the key thing with having your own exhibition is to believe in it yourself – ‘to thine own self be true’. As I have matured I am very clear about who I am and what I believe in and this in turn has made exhibiting a lot more fulfilling. My last solo show was focused on depicting the forgotten spaces where we come together as a community in our cities where we rush from work, to home, to leisure events. I wanted people to view the exhibition and see the beauty in these spaces and, hopefully, to stop, engage with them, and enjoy them more.

Clovelly Road

You are a Scot who grew up in Hong Kong but went to school and University in Edinburgh, Scotland. Now you live in Sydney, Australia. How does your diverse and transient background effect your work? You use rice paper with ink. As well some of the techniques you employ, are your ideas and concepts effected by your upbringing? If so how?
My diverse background has greatly effected my work. The art we produce is a reflection of our life as it is an expression of our thoughts and beliefs. Similarly, our physical surroundings can have a large impact on our work in terms of the visual stimulation or even practicalities of producing art. So due to my diverse background, I have moved through many stages in my work from super realist oil painting, to abstract watercolours, to clay sculptures, to textiles, to cubist collage, to political painting, to loose ink painting and so on. I must confess that I am happy to be in a less transient stage of my life as I find it easier to build on my ideas and concepts and hopefully when I find time these will be expressed in my painting. However, the diverse background has given me a great foundation to draw on.

Which contemporaries would you list amongst your personal favorites?
I am a fan of many artists! However, in my list I would have to mention Claudia Massie a Scottish Artist with whom I have had several joint exhibitions. Claudia has firm roots in rural Scotland and her paintings are a bold depiction of this landscape. In Australia, I enjoy the work of Carol Ruff and Greg Weight who both draw inspiration from outback Australia to produce distinctly different art.

How does a painting evolve for you? How is your conscious effected by your subconscious?
Although the finished product is static, a painting evolves in a very fluid motion. When I apply a brushstroke to one area it can completely change the whole. Therefore, for me painting can be like a dance balancing the different weight, tone, and colour of the brushstrokes, which constantly effects the small scale to the complete painting. I work very fast in doing this. I draw on my intuition and skill that has taken a lifetime of doodling to achieve.

Coogee Distilled

In your opinion, what are the fundamental disciplines or media do you find integral to the work of an artist and why?
It depends what kind of artist you want to be. Since the Marcel Duchamp Porcelain Urinal of 1917, art has become anything and everything. So much of the art world and the critics and curators that draw their wages from it can engage in a cerebral masturbation of the boundaries and ideas of Art. I have found engaging with this aspect a barrier to my artistic discipline as I feel the experience is likened to the parable of the Emperor’s New Clothes. So for me, belief in your own work is key as an artist. As an artist you must decide yourself what you want your skill level to be, what your concepts and ideas are, and what media to use. In my opinion, my strong foundation in drawing and painting has been key in depicting the ideas I want to express in my work.

Nicola Moir (born 1979) graduated with a diploma in Drawing and Painting from Edinburgh College of Art. She later studies Geography, in which she graduated with a First Class Honours from the University or Edinburgh. She has exhibited in galleries in Scotland for over a decade, having been regularly accepted to the Annual Exhibitions at the Royal Scottish Academy and the Royal Glasgow Institute in Scotland. Since Moir’s move in 2009, she has frequently exhibited in Sydney.

All images courtesy of Nicola Moir | www.nicolamoirart.com

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