Commentary & Testimonials

  • When Nicola Stratton Tyler packs her rucksack with oil paints and heads for the coast, her mission is to capture not just the extraordinary landscape but also the sounds of the sea. The thunder of breakers pounding on Cornish cliffs or wind whispering through Suffolk reed beds is as integral to her work as the dramatic interplay of scenery, sea and sky. “I aim to give an immediate sense of being outside, of natural forms, the play of light, the rumble of the waves” she says. Her vibrant paintings convey pure delight in the contrasting countryside around her low-lying East Anglian home, with its vast skies, and the rugged West Country, where she regularly holidays. While she has sketched and sculpted since childhood, Stratton Tyler built her career as a valuer with Christie’s and other major auction houses. But four years ago her passion for painting caught fire. At first she found her 25 years spent assessing fine art and rare illustrated books a hindrance - how could she measure up? But then she realised that her time spent looking at art had helped train her eye in “what works and what doesn’t”. She adds: “Once I’d started painting I couldn’t stop. Now I work as a valuer two days a week and as an artist for five. My quest to paint is relentless. It’s an absolute joy.” Stratton Tyler swiftly built up a strong following. Buyers include public institutions such as the National Trust. Her work is regularly displayed at Snape Maltings Gallery and this summer sees her paintings on show in a solo exhibition in Fishers’ seafront gallery at Aldeburgh. England’s ever-changing weather impels Stratton Tyler to work at speed, often using sweeps of impasto to conjure up foam, rocks or threatening clouds. While she revels in the immediacy of plein air sketching in oil pastels on small-format board, she will often add further touches back in her studio and scale up selected works for added impact. While she has recently begun to explore small still lifes, the lure of the ever-shifting seascape exerts the strongest pull.

    — Alison Booth, The Circles of Art

  • One of the best curatorial finds since my curation of The Watermill Gallery began in 2021 has been Nicola Stratton Tyler. Her handling of oil on (usually luminously bright) gesso board brings to life either a small geranium, a pot of marmalade or a little hidden snippet of a landscape. Each painting seems to be about revelling in paint, often brushstrokes are visible and negative spaces are treated just as delicately as the subject matter; close-ups of everyday scenes. Every piece we’ve had in nearly 10 shows featuring Nic’s work has been received with great excitement – and doesn't take long to sell. Winning prizes and getting even more initials after her name is now I think going to be an upward trajectory.

    — Zanna Wilson, Artist / Curator of The Watermill Gallery

  • Excerpt | Having completed an MA (Hons) at Edinburgh University, EAAF Member Nicola Stratton Tyler has spent more than 20 years as a Fine Art valuer, working for Christie's London, Bonham's East Anglia, as a freelance valuer and curator. Her own artwork is largely inspired by the landscapes and seascapes of East Anglia and North Cornwall. We asked Nicola to describe her work: “I suppose it is a form of impressionism, largely plein air in practice, and always hoping or attempting to capture a sense of the transience in landscape...”

    — Great Art For Our Region: Transience in Landscape, East Anglia Art Fund | Read the full interview