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ABOUT

10. Nicola Coutts Photo Graham Clark.JPG

​Hello!

Based in Midlothian, I hold an MA (Hons) in Fine Art from Edinburgh University/Edinburgh College of Art and a postgraduate MA in the Conservation of Fine Art from the University of Northumbria.

 

My paintings are inspired by bloom: the vibrant colour and shifting forms of spring and summer flowers, informed by time spent in local gardens and their sense of calm and renewal. I am also influenced by Islamic carpets and their symbolic images of paradise; their intricate pattern, geometry and rich palettes shape how I think about space and harmony.

 

Working primarily in oils, I build slow layers that allow reflection as the image develops. I also make and cut my own stencils, drawing on a year-long printmaking course at Leith School of Art, applying them with spray paint before returning to the surface with oil. Using brushes and my hands, I create tactile, atmospheric paintings focused on heat, haze and the sensory qualities of summer, moving between abstraction and representation to evoke an immersive feeling of place.

Exhibitions include:

  • Paisley Art Institute Annual Exhibition April - May 2026. 

  • Rheged Centre, Penrith, In Bud and Bloom – Contemporary Art Exhibition (July – October 2025)

  • Borders Art Fair, Kelso, March 2025,

  • The Atelier Gallery, Edinburgh, Winter Exhibition, 2024 and 2025

  • The Atelier Gallery, Edinburgh, The Importance of Being Small, 2025 and 2026

  • Number Four Gallery, St Abbs, Summer Exhibition, 2024 and 2025

  • Velvet Easel Gallery, Portobello, Edinburgh, Winter, Spring & Summer Exhibitions, 2024, 2025, 2026,

  • The Edinburgh Macmillan Art Show, November 2024 and 2025

  • Coburgh House, Leith, Edinburgh, Near & Far: Paintings by Sarah Anderson & Nicola Coutts, November 2023 

  • Leith School of Art, Leith, Edinburgh, End of Year Show, June 2023

  • Whitespace Gallery, Edinburgh, Closer to Nature, 2022

  • Artists at Work 1 & 2, National Galleries of Scotland, Festival & Winter Exhibitions (Torrance Gallery, Edinburgh), Society of Scottish Artists Annual Exhibition (Royal Scottish Academy), The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, Science at the heart of Summerhall – Edinburgh International Science Festival and Particle (WASPS Patriothall Gallery, Edinburgh).

 

Member of Visual Arts Scotland.

 

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