The Persistence of Philip Nicholson
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- Details
- Category: Interviews
- Written by Julianne Ingles
'You did the cover of Time Magazine?' I said.
'Yes', Nicholson replied, rather modestly.
'How fantastic, and how did you get to that point'?
That's what I wanted to know.
At fifteen, Philip Nicholson taught himself to paint by copying the work of other artists. But his career as an illustrator didn't start until much later. He worked as an exhibition designer for five years in Edinburgh, Scotland. Then he met his wife, Elizabeth, and they moved to a small village near Varberg, Sweden. The first few months he painted and put together a portfolio. Then he began networking. 'It was just knocking on doors for a couple of months, that's how I got started,’ Nicholson said.
In 1988, Nicholson bought his first Macintosh computer and began drawing with Illustrator 88. In 1992, he upgraded to Photoshop 2 and began using airbrush tools. 'Very few illustrators were doing that kind of digital work in '92,’ Nicholson said. ‘I was one of just a few in Sweden, one of a handful in Europe. My clients didn't know what I was talking about when I offered to deliver illustrations electronically.'
By 1993 Nicholson had built up a substantial portfolio. He decided to expand his business into England and sent his portfolio to Spectrum Artists in London. 'The agent was baffled by my digital illustrations. He said no one was doing that, that there wasn't a market for it,’ Nicholson said. ‘But his wife, she was interested, and later gave me a call.'
