Artist Statement

Brian Nolan (1931 – 2019)
“I feel privileged to live where I do at this point in time. And whenever I paint, though often I risk insect bites in summer and frostbite in winter, I feel privileged to stand where I stand from interest and see what I see, and am content to hold my palette and brush as long as possible or necessary to finish a work. I feel privileged to fill my borrowed space.
Though I may tread familiar paths a hundred times, each excursion becomes a different experience.”
Brian Nolan
Brian sought to portray the essence of the places where he lived, initially the streets of Manchester but for most of his life the landscape around New Mills and Hayfield. He often painted outdoors, walking out from home in all weathers, to capture the changing seasons. He studied and treasured what he saw: from the smallest details of the natural world to the wide, wild landscape of the Dark Peak and the human lives within it.
Although Brian worked in a range of mediums, he had an enduring fascination with watercolour. He was a member of the Manchester Academy of Fine Arts, held solo exhibitions and also contributed work to many other exhibitions, including the summer exhibitions at the Royal Academy in London. A retrospective exhibition was held at Buxton Museum and Art Gallery in 2021 and this was followed, in 2023, by exhibitions in Salisbury, New Mills and Hayfield and at Patchings Art Centre in Nottinghamshire.
The Brian Nolan Art Trust, a registered charity, now looks after his work. It aims to establish a major collection of his art, exhibit it widely and promote watercolour painting.
A small selection of pictures will be for sale and prints may be ordered of some of Brian’s paintings.