Your stories

I see Nick's artwork before I see him. It's beautiful, colourful and detailed work. Never have I used colouring pencils in the way Nick has.

One of the most poignant paintings is of a pair of boots, not because they are essential footwear but because of the story behind them. The boots are the equivalent of this man's first car. If only they could talk.

“These are Dutch para army boots which I wore for two years when I was homeless," says Nick. "My feet were in them, they were part of me. They're creased and worn but there’s something about them. I just like them.”

Those boots...

Nick was born in Scarborough in 1974. His upbringing is one that makes people like me realise just how lucky we are.

“My mother disappeared one day and I was put in my father's care. I got hooked on drugs when I was 15. At the time I thought it was great but looking back its appalling.

Jagger made with black acrylic and PVA

“I finished secondary school a Grade A student but I didn’t sit my exams because we moved home and my dad told me not to bother. I did sit English and Art though, and got an A. I could have done anything I wanted."

It took a long time before Nick did do what he wanted though.

“I've been a gardener, a chef, a plasterer, a plumber, I've done this and that and then I went to prison for 21 months. Before prison I was doing £80-worth of heroin, crack cocaine, tranquillizers and 10 cans of beer a day!

“Boredom in prison brought me back to my love of art. I told someone I could draw and he asked me to draw a portrait of his kids. As time went by I got better and better… I had queues of people who wanted me to draw pictures for them - the payment being cigarettes (even though I didn't smoke!) and biscuits."

From prison to the streets

After Nick's time behind bars he moved to Sheffield, where his best friend lived.

“Between 2005 and 2007 I slept rough on Devonshire Green a lot. It would be ok if people ignored you but they don't - they kick you and shout at you. You have to have your wits about you.

"People shout, ‘Get a job!’ but believe me, I would rather not sit on the pavement. I was a plasterer for 15 years - but how can you get a job when you haven't got an alarm clock, when you only have the clothes that you're wearing? It’s difficult and that's where the Archer Project helped me with everything."

Jimmy Hendrix, pencil drawn

Nick has nothing but kind and thankful words for the Archer Project which helps the homeless and vulnerable to get back on their feet. It's based at Sheffield Cathedral: there's more information via the link to their website on the right of the page.

Art at the Archer Project

"I started walking around town, homeless, and I was introduced to the Archer Project. They helped me with everything - a shower, clothes, they even found me a home.

"I went in one day when an art teacher was there. She was drawing and I thought, ‘I can do that.’ When I was at school I always wanted to be an art teacher. Sadly she died but I ended up taking over her job, which is voluntary.

"I want to give something back. I've taken a lot and the Archer Project has really helped me. I'm happy for the first time in my life. I'm the happiest I've ever been."

Monkey magic

Nick loves music from the 1960s and 70s, and modern artists like Amy Winehouse and The Stripes - but not the music churned out of the pop factory, he says. He got his artistic break when he painted a picture of the Arctic Monkeys and sold it to a pub in Sheffield.

"I found a picture of the Arctic Monkeys on a wall and I bought a canvas which was reduced because it was a little bit ripped. I painted this picture and took it into the Frog and Parrot pub on Division Street in Sheffield because I knew they really liked young music.

“I was really nervous because I used to beg outside that pub so I thought they'd recognise me. I showed the painting to the manager and he had a great big smile on his face, and I knew I'd sold it there and then.

"He bartered with me about the price and we settled on one eventually. As I walked outside the pub, there was a guy sitting outside exactly where I used to sit. He asked if I had any spare change, it was almost surreal. I gave him a couple of quid, it was just strange.

The artist known as ‘Nick’

Nick’s work was showcased at Sheffield Cathedral as part of a Hallam Art Group exhibition in May 2009. After three years of keeping his artwork to himself, Nick is finally displaying some of the colourful vibrant work he has been producing over the months.

"I’ve been listening to people comment about my artwork and it's made me feel really good about myself. I haven't set prices and I don't know if I want to do that yet. I just want to exhibit them first and let people see them.

Ronnie Wood and Mick Jagger

"I don't realise how good I am. I've sat in a back room for three years just painting away and I don't compare my work with anyone else, I just keep doing it. I always see faults in my work and I just want to keep going and making it better. That’s all I want to do."

One of the most striking paintings is of The Rolling Stones' Ronnie Wood and Mick Jagger.

“I had some spare paint and I just stacked it and it started working. Originally it was two separate pictures. It was very quick and spontaneous and now I'm developing my own style. It’s the first time I stopped taking influences from other artists and have done my own thing.

"I've used different materials in my paintings, I'm currently painting Joe Cocker in 1968. I'm trying a new technique in this painting, using lots of little dots. The Mick Jagger picture ‘Paint it Black’ is a combination of black acrylic paint and PVA glue. And the Jimi Hendrix piece is done with colouring pencils.

"I’ve missed the best part of my life and I'm considering going to university to study art. I'm going to keep painting because its something I love, it doesn't really make me any money but the love is more important than money."

May 2009