INTERVIEW—
Yasmine Ganley and Nick Herd

Paper Daisies
BY Nick Herd, 2022
Oil on canvas
87 x 76 cm

I zoom called Nick Heard from my bedroom one evening, and with the time difference: me being in New Zealand and Nick being in Sydney two hours behind, the sun in his room was setting a warm and golden glow. The sun in my time zone had left, and I was, in comparison, sitting in the blue-dark. The energy coming through my computer screen seemed to emulate the physicality and brightness of Nick’s own paintings. Both artist and artwork seem nurtured by light, or at least aware of which direction it is coming from and forever seeking it out. That evening, six months ago, we spoke about his transition to Australia and how the community there are embracing his work and his love for the ocean. 

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Yasmine Ganley: So, going back to that day we first met… I had come to photograph your (then) girlfriend Charlotte, right?
Nick Herd: Oh, that's right. How long ago was it now? Because I remember you had your little baby in the front pack.

Well, maybe it would be four years ago.
Yeah. Wow.

I know, kids really put a definite stamp on time. It doesn't even feel that long ago. So, obviously, you moved out of that space. And did you go straight to Australia?
Yeah, I went straight to Australia, to the Northern Beaches, which are incredible. And I had a little garden out back and a garage sort of studio setup. But, yeah, it's funny, I built walls for the inside of it. And then the whole time I was there, I ended up painting in the kitchen of the house that I was living in. It was pretty hectic, each time I wanted to paint, I'd start my morning off with a surf, come back, and then I'd have to carry this big easel into the kitchen and then put a drop sheet down, carry the mixing table and paints. (Laughs)

What was the draw with the kitchen? Was it the light, or…?
Yeah, it was the light. And just, I guess the windows as well. I liked painting the flowers by the windowsill. You get like, the greenery out the window… It just felt a lot nicer than being in an enclosed space.

And what was the draw to Australia? You just wanted a change?
Yeah, it was a change. My brother was living there. And we're pretty close. He'd been telling me really good things about it. I think the surf as well, and the art, it was a combination of things.

And have you felt the community there has been warm and inviting to you and your work.
Yeah, definitely. I was actually amazed with the way Australians are. They love a chat, you’ll walk down the street, and you'll walk past a random and they'll just say some funny little remark, and I found that really nice.

I've had lots of other good things happen to me over here too. After I was living in the Northern Beaches for a year and I was surfing a lot, probably like two to three times a day, I moved over to the Eastern Beaches, which is around the city side and Monster Children Magazine, they've been so good to me, they’ve given me a space downstairs at their offices. So that's been really cool. It's sparked a few new works.

That’s not the first time I've heard that Monster Children are really nurturing. I think like, that's sort of their thing, isn't it?
Yeah it’s so nice. Because I guess as an artist, like a lot of the time, you're by yourself, but [where I am now] they're always coming through, and I'm talking to them, and they're inviting me to the Thursday lunch beers, and you know the events that they do. It kind of feels like, like a family.

Oh, that's so important. Especially when you're away from home.
Yeah, definitely.

So you're still there now?
Yeah, I had a show in Melbourne, about a month ago, so the studio right now is fairly empty, but I've just started putting together canvases and things.

Starting again.
Yeah, it's kind of daunting, but also kind of exciting. I've got a show in January in Sydney, which I'll be working towards, which I'm pretty excited for at Jericho Contemporary. It was quite interesting, because I guess a lot of people enjoy the flower works that I do. And I enjoy doing them. But I also know that I like doing other things. So it was nice to hear that she just wanted me to do whatever I wanted to do. You know, maybe isn't asking for a particular painting. Which I think yeah, I'm quite excited about.

That’s nice. Kind of giving you permission in a way to experiment.
Yeah, because I'm working on a wood carving.

You've done a few of those?
Yeah, I do have one back at home.

Was that what that really big carving that was in the space I visited you, or was that made out of something else?
That was like a massive polystyrene.

I guess a similar approach?
Pretty much. Just the wood’s a bit harder to chip into.

Fair enough. So what are you chain sawing that? Or?
Yeah, I’ve been chain sawing…. I feel like a bit of a psycho. (Laughs)

It does have psycho tendencies. Is that a skill you've had to learn or is that something you already knew how to use?
I’ve never done it before and I've been slightly worried because I do have a very, like, when I do things, I just sort of go for it. And I've just been really careful to make sure I don't hurt myself.

Yeah, could get gnarly.
I feel like I'm the type of person that probably would end up hurting myself. I just have to drill it into my mind each time.

Yeah, just go slow. Because am I right to think that the same is with your painting. One day, you just sort of decided that you were just going to do it. And kind of went for it one day. It wasn't something that you trained in or?
Yeah, exactly.

That's so cool.
Yeah, it’s pretty cool. I've always wondered what it would be like to have some sort of training.

Do you think that not having been trained specifically or gone through that kind of schooling process, do you think that… because, as a viewer to your work, I think that it adds something, even the way that you're applying paint feels like it has a real impulse to it. Rather than it being really thought out or methodical. Like you can see the energy in it?
Yeah, I guess it's quite an instinctual approach. I have thought about it. You know, like, maybe if I went to a school or something it might have been drilled it out of me. But I think in the end, I probably still would have just been the same.

And so how many years have you been doing it now?
Yeah, seven or eight probably, I’ve kind of lost track…

Do you feel like you've changed your process or the way that you approach each painting or execute work?
A little bit. I think it's more like, confidence in myself, and having more of that. Because it is daunting, I mean, the art world sort of has this stigma around it. When you're young and trying to break into it it's all kind of scary. So, I think just trying to be true to myself and to play with what I'm doing all the time. Keep it fun and make sure I'm enjoying the process.

Obviously, surfing is invigorating for you and you seem to bring that energy straight back into the studio with you. If you're going like two or three times a day…
Yeah, on a good day… maybe not surfing for too long beforehand, but I would say jumping in the ocean kind of does give you that drive to start your day. But then if I'm out there for too long, it kind of takes away all my energy.

Yeah, I guess they kind of have this similar energy about them too, that feels like it is impulsive and demands you to be really present, that you sort of have to be in the zone, otherwise you're off the wave.
Definitely. Like even today I was in the studio, and I was struggling with a painting. And I was trying to dust off the cobwebs, because I had a few weeks off, and I think I was just trying to force it and it wasn't working. And I know that I didn't go for surf in the morning because I was just really wanting to go to the studio. But when I got to the point where I was forcing it, I should have just left and gone surfing or something. And then you come back the next day and you just have a different energy, and the painting sort of moves on organically, I guess.

You’ve just put out your show She Loves You, and now you're starting to prepare for the Sydney one in January. So, at this point, do you have any idea of what's going to be in that show? Or it's just like, you're on this ride, until it's time.
I guess it’s like you were saying, whatever I'm doing is sort of sporadic and I don't really like to think too much about it. I'm just going to make the work. I have a vague idea about maybe colours and subjects. It's going to include a few portraits along with a wooden sculpture of a face. I sort of enjoy just going in there and seeing what happens.

Totally. And like you say, it must be exciting for you too. If you knew what you were going to do it would just be like pumping out work.

We were talking recently about you mum always looking out for your best interests. What’s she like?
She's been described as a ladybird on acid.

Oh my god. I love that, you need to paint that. Why?
I don't know. She's just very… she's got… she's like the sweetest person ever. Doesn't have a bad bone in her body, but she kind of has no filter with her with her mouth. And yeah, I don't know. You just must meet her.

She sounds great. So, is it obvious that you sort of ended up doing this kind of thing? Like, did you grow up around anything like painting or anyone being creative?
No, I didn't really. I mean, I had a Superman video cassette and on the cover was Superman sort of flying out and I remember I probably asked my dad to draw it at least 20 times or more. And I would just sit and watch him turn the cover into a drawing. I think that's probably the only sort of memory of being around it.

What the first thing that you painted? Did you just think I'm just going to paint flowers?
No, it was people that I first did.

That’s right, they're amazing.
Yeah. And then the flowers came because I think I just painted a few sunflowers once and then I had a family that were, (I guess they were trying to help me) wanting to buy these paintings off me. I’d never sold a painting before and they were such interesting people. They were English and involved with a lot of rich people, but they were kind of like, undercover Bohemians. And it always felt like they're trying to push me to do things. And it was a nice relationship. And then once they saw the sunflowers, they you know… Georgie, she would turn up to my studio with like, flowers, and she wouldn't tell me to paint them but like she'd leave them there for me. Obviously, she knew I was going to paint them.

Georgie, I met through her son, we used to work at a cafe together and I think I used to serve their coffee to them and then I was in a group show or something and I told them to come along, and they turned up. They’re just so unique and were interested to see how you could paint from life, like from looking at a person. And then I painted like the whole family. Even their cousins and family friends. It was so fun and then I just kind of like opened my eyes to that type of painting.

So nice. It's like you had so much encouragement around you…
It was so nice. And then if I wasn't painting, I guess I just always had them in the back of my mind knowing that they would want to see me working. And I remember she had a really good saying. She would say, you need to paint every day, so it becomes like handwriting. Like once you start doing it, it just happens without thinking about it. And yeah, she's has definitely been a motivator for me.

Well, I mean, it's like you were saying what happened the other day when you had a few days off you lost that momentum.
Yeah.

Your work is so beautiful and joyful, but I think it’s because there’s your energy in it, it doesn’t feel laboured or anything it really just feels like you’ve gone and put it up there which, I imagine, is a hard task to achieve.
It’s funny you say that. I guess that’s part of the confidence I was saying that I’ve learnt over the years. Maybe if I have one painting it doesn’t make as much sense unless I’m surrounded by like ten of them. Maybe the work that surrounds me becomes my confidence.

I guess even though you’re painting another person or an object it’s still you, you’re still in that work and you’re still putting yourself out there and sharing something that’s within you. It’s like any practice the more you put out there the more you learn, and confidence comes with that.

fin.

Orange Roses
BY Nick Herd, 2022
Oil on canvas
62.5 x 52 cm

Market Flowers
BY Nick Herd, 2022
Oil on canvas
71.5 x 61.5 cm