 ;Nick Savides learned to paint as a young child from his mother (an amateur painter) and never stopped. At Brandeis University, he studied under the New York figurative painter Paul Georges and learned formal composition and painting techniques. It was then that he knew he wanted to make a career in the art world. ; ;He has always been a representational artist and over the years has done landscapes, cityscapes, portraits, and figurative paintings. His paintings tell a story, and at once have a sense of mystery, drama, and calm. ; ;Starting out, Nick focused on paintings of people in interior settings, drawing on Jan Vermeer as an influence. It was then that the effects of light became ─ and stayed ─ a key ingredient in his painting. ; ;Moving to New York in 1980, he moved on to city scenes. Living in the Village, he painted people in the context of the city streets. Later, after moving to Brooklyn, he drew inspiration from his new surroundings and over time made paintings that included scenes from Park Slope, Prospect Park, Coney Island, and the Brooklyn, Manhattan and Verrazzano Bridges. ; ;Inspired by the beauty of Martha’s Vineyard, he started to focus on New England landscapes. Influenced by Edward Hopper, Winslow Homer and Albert Pinkham Ryder, among others, he continued to work in oils and for a time also in watercolors. ; ;From the cliffs of Martha’s Vineyard, Nick moved on to the canyons of the American West, painting scenes inspired by national parks in Utah, Arizona, South Dakota, and Wyoming – the Badlands, Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Cedar Breaks, and Zion National Parks. ;In the past few years he has split his time between city and country subjects, painting scenes inspired by downtown New York and the farmlands of Dutchess County, NY and Litchfield County, CT. ; |