Nicholas Hopwood

I am a self-taught painter, primarily working in oils on stretched canvas, living in rural Tasmania south of Hobart. In early 2020, prompted by the pandemic, I re-evaluated my life. I decided to quit working as a light vehicle mechanic, a job which I had done for many years, and dedicate myself to art, which I believe is my true calling. Now working full-time in the studio, my only regret is that I didn’t have the courage to make the necessary changes much sooner.

Primarily a realist painter, my works lean heavily on classical figurative traditions, injected with somewhat grittier interpretations of subject and form. To my eye this give figurative paintings a greater approximation of what it is to be human. In the painting “Josephine Cutting Clouds” I explore themes of isolation and loneliness as seen in my daughter (Josephine), myself, family, and ultimately across all humanity. Universal human truths in trying times.

Nicholas Hopwood is a finalist and People’s Choice winner in the 2021 Henry Jones Art Prize.