The website of the National Acrylic Painters’ Association. A non-profit making group organised by artists for artists
NAPA
National Acrylic Painters’ Association
Nicki Macrae
Easter-Ross, Highlands of Scotland
My work involves layering – concealing and revealing,
enhancing and building, destroying and selectively
supplementing. I adore colour and texture. I take an instinctive
approach when working, using a wide range of media and found
objects. I enjoy experimentation and see it as vital to my work.
Acrylic paint (in all it's forms) has always been my primary
medium. I value the immediacy of acrylics, they suit my fast
style of working - and I also find them highly suitable for
working en plein air, being in the wet and windy Highlands of
Scotland.
I have several key areas of interest – a love of the natural Scottish
Highland landscape brought me to landscape painting, but a key
theme in my work is heritage, the built environment and
archaeology. I explore our relationship with these places as
modern people, the layering of history through time, and the
impression people leave on their environment. I enjoy notions of
the passing of time, decay and weathering. In 2012 I exhibited a
major body of work –'Ruin' – focused on exploring these ideas,
and spent time as Artist in Residence at the Ness of Brodgar
archaeological excavations, Orkney, furthering my work in this
area.
My abstract work takes joy in texture, reparative mark making,
and expressive line-work. I enjoy exploring the relationship
between intended and random mark-marking in the creative
process. I often employ a mix of destructive and creative
processes when working. Most recently I've been working with
spray paints and techniques associated with Street Art, using
them in conjunction with more traditional, vintage, perhaps 'twee'
materials such as lace, buttons, sewing patterns, costume
jewellery, doilies.
I have work in private collections across the UK, Europe and in
the USA, New Zealand and Canada.