About

I am a Scottish artist who has enjoyed a varied career. I graduated from Glasgow School of Art 1993, and worked as a bouncer, a chef, a stonemason and a blacksmith before returning to art 1999 to set up Perfect Circle, a commercial fine art company. Perfect Circle ran for 15 years, alongside Maryhill Art School which I set up with two other tutors. At the same time I set up and ran Strange Frames, a bespoke framing company. I spent 15 years collaborating with my hero, the Scottish artist and writer Alasdair Gray on his visual work and public projects. I’ve also worked for Oscar winning film designers, made huge mosaics and murals acted as the arts consultant for infrastructure projects. I now live in the countryside working from a studio that I built during lockdown, and painting the Scottish landscape among other passions.

2022
2022 The Beithir begins!
2022 The Beithir begins!

I’m making a sculpture in Maryhill / Ruchill / Gilshochill. It’s of a Beithir, one of the Fuath. It’s designed to be made and then mosaiced by the three communities that are being rejoined by the new wonderful bridge at Stockingfield Junction. Glasgow Live – The Beithir begins! https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/glasgow-news/mythical-serpent-form-centrepiece-new-24829827

2022 Speaking at the “Making Imagined Objects: The 2nd International Alasdair Gray Conference”

I was honoured to speak at the Making Imagined Objects: The 2nd International Alasdair Gray Conference which was a series of talks, debates, exhibitions and social events on my late dear friend the acclaimed writer and artist whose works included Lanark, 1982, Janine and A History Maker, as well as

2021
2021
2021

New Studio

2021
2021

The Smugglers Club. www.thesmugglersclub.co.uk

2021

Building the New Studio.

2020
2020
2020

Strange Path. solo show.

2020
2020

The Unlikely Clan – Dance once with everyone. A group show with 4 other figurative artists. Cherylene Dyer, Frank McNab, Jane Gardiner and Todd Garner

2019
2019
2019

Tam o’Shanter.

2019
2019

Lost Castles. solo show.

2019
2019

Joined the Distillers Art, an independent bottlers with a keen interest in art. I am the commissioning artist,

2019
2019

Joined the SOGO gallery as a director and helped set it up and get it running.

2019
2019

Started the Cloud Diaries project.

2018
2018
2018

The mural for drawing room at Chivas’s private hotel in Keith.

2018

Work for the Loch Lomond Golf club via Graven Images.

2018
2018

Still water, solo show.

2017
2017
2017

Peatzeria Restaurant on Islay. A restarant mural and painting and signage for a great friend.

2017
2017

Outlaw King – Concept artist. Working with Adam squires and the Oscar winning Don Burt.

2017

The copyrighted painting.

2017
2017

Rouk Skies solo show.

2016
2016
2016

Artworks for the Banff Springs hotel, Banff

2016

Decorations for a private snooker room.

2016
2016

The buttercup summer.

2016
2016

A mural for the Castle terrace restaurant, Edinburgh.

2016
2016

Murals for the set of Trainspotting 2

2016
2016

Caught light, solo show.

2015
2015
2015

The first Shortt Alba rally.

2015
2015

Bravarian Brau Haus

2015
2015

Islay private house mosaic.

2014
2014
2014

A series of artworks to decorate the headquarters of the Scottish Leather Group and to tell the story of it’s 200 year history. And some abstract works for the boardroom

2014
2014

That night at the Barrowlands watching Teenage Fanclub with Sanj and Al.

2014
2014

Artworks for the public areas of the Old course hotel in St Andrews.

2014
2014

Nichol and his lovely wife Sue build an eco house.

2013
2013
2013

A portrait of David Dunbar, the president of the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland.

2013
2013

Collaboration with Alasdair Gray on the Western baths mural. https://thewesternbaths.co.uk

2013
2013

Inaugrual exhibition of the facebook group “The Scottish Arts Council”

2012
2012
2012

The Hillhead Subway mural. Alasdair Gray was asked to make a large mural at Hillhead Subway station. As he decided to base it on one of my old drawings, a mural I had done in the Grosvenor café it was decided that he and his team would draw it and

2012
2012

Appeared on stage at Òran Mór with for the Glasgow production of Fleck as part of the Margins Festival. Possibly the only time I will ever grace a stage, and to do it with Alasdair Gray, Alan Bissett, Allan Wilson, Zoe Strachan, Louise Welsh, Chiew Siah-Tei, Rodge Glass, Carl MacDougall

2012
2012

The Opera paintings for La Bonne Auberge in Glasgow.

2012
2012

A portrait of Professor John Brown OBE the Astronomer Royal for Scotland.

2012 – 2013
2012 – 2013

Worked closely with Paul Buchanan (formerly of the Blue Nile) to make his first major artwork. This was a large artwork for Kelvinhall subway station. It took the form of an elegant set of lyrics that could be read in many ways and from many directions (depending on how you

2011
2011
2011

Paintings for the Piersland House hotel.

2011
2011

The Indigo Hotel. A bespoke series of artworks for the new Indigo hotel in Glasgow. A series of murals, curated artworks and commissioned photography. For the initimable Maurice Taylor.

2011
2011

The Fleck backdrop for the Edinburgh book festival. Alasdair was asked to create a closing event for the 2011 the Edinburgh book festival. His proposal was to have some of his friends read his play “Fleck” (his version of Goethe’s Faust) which had at this point not been performed. This

2011
2011

A painting for the Interior minister of Kuwait.

2011
2011

Painting the Eastern Gable with Alasdair Gray. Including the incident of the unfortunate bucket.

2011
2011

Photocollage murals for EKGTA in East Kilbride.

2011

The project never to be named. (No image due to legal reasons)

2010
2010
2010

Artworks for the fourth iteration of the Corinthian. Including the victorian mosaic for the Bootleg bar in tandem with Graven Images.

2009
2009
2009

Moved into the Lochburn road studio, established the Strange Frames studio and the Maryhill Art School.

2009 – 2012
2009 – 2012

Maryhill Art School. A small independent art school set up Cynthia Bowles, Martin MacInally and Nichol Wheatley. It was a great wee art school which had about 450 students at it’s peak. It was dedicated to traditional Drawing and painting skills.

2010
2010

The decorations for the Cornwall hotel and Spa. Nichol and his team were commissioned to create a series of artworks for the Hotel and Spa.  

2008
2008

The artwork for every Holiday Inn Express bedroom in Europe.

2008

The Harte and Garter Hotel. A series of artworks and curation to create a very special hotel opposite Windsor Castle. And a funny incident involving palace security.

2008
2008

Strange Frames begins!

2007
2007
2007

The decoration of a five star hotel in Bulgaria. This involved being falsely accused of being an international art smuggler, the foreign office and a 10 year ban from Croatia…..

2007
2007

The Lily restaurant Bothwell.

2006
2006
2006

A mosaic for a private house on Islay.

2006 – 2011
2006 – 2011

The actor’s poker game, the west end, Glasgow.

2006 – 2019
2006 – 2019

Working with Alasdair Gray at Òran Mór.

2005
2005 – 2008
2005 – 2008

Original artworks for the Folio group of hotels. This was a long commission that spanned 3 years and 28 hotels. In total about 3000 original artworks were made for this client.

2005
2005

Artworks for the second iteration of Corinthian, Glasgow.

2005
2005

Nichol was asked to set up an exchange program between the Glasgow School of Art and the art association of the Vermillion coast in Languedouc Rousillion. Nichol took part in the first exchange in Collioure with other visiting artists from Germany and Spain

2004
2004
2004

The ceiling of St Aloysious. Nichol and his team were commissioned by Page and Park to decorate the ceiling of St Aloysius church which became the most technical piece of research that he has (so far) ever had to undertake.

2003
2003
2003

The Hurricane restaurants.

2003
2003

The East end tale – Royal Glasgow Infirmary, Glasgow. A large photographic collage telling the story of the RGI and celebrating the Hippocratic Oath.

2003
2003

Holiday Inn Excel. London

2002
2002
2002

The Scotsman Hotel. Nichol and his team were commissioned to do about 2000 original artworks for the newly commissioned hotel at the offices of the old Scotsman newspaper. This involved original artworks, murals and tromp l’oeil work.

2001
2001
2001

Arta  – a series of antiqued reproduction paintings for the fabulous Arta restaurant. They’re still there.

2000
2000
2000

Crieff Hydro – The Victorian pool. Nichol and his team were commissioned to do a series of murals for the Victorian pool at Crieff Hydro.

1999
1999 – Present
1999 – Present

Owner and Director of Perfect Circle Art. A fine art studio modelled on the classical studios of antiquity. The purpose of this was to improve his technique by taking commercial projects that would lead to learning outcomes. Perfect Circle handles fine art projects up to the value of about £500,000.

1999
1999

Murals at the Grosvenor café. For years Nichol and his flatmates ate at the local café called the Grosvenor Cafe owned by Larry and Ghislaine Winning. In 1999 Larry asked Nichol to paint some murals for the café. One of the murals was a drawing of the west end which

1999
1999

Paintings for the first iteration of the Corinthian club.

1999
1999

Painting and mosaics for Bar ce lona pub Sauchiehall street.

1996
1996
1996

A painting of the new housing office in Glasgow. Nichol and another artist shared the commission to do the artwork for the new building as they were the only two who entered. The building was named after John Wheatley, the housing minister in the first labour government. He is Nichol’s

1994
1994 – 2009
1994 – 2009

Tutor at the continuing education department of Glasgow School of Art. During this period Nichol taught some amazing artists including Muriel Barclay (link to https://www.murielbarclay.com ) and Judith Bridgeland (link to http://www.jibridgland.com ).

1993
1993 – 1999
1993 – 1999

Between Art school and 1999 Nichol had a series of jobs that included being a stonemason, a blacksmith and working in kitchens. He did a series of hand-drawn adverts for a bike shop that were the most stolen item on the subway in Glasgow at the time. He ran a

1989
1989 – 1993
1989 – 1993

Glasgow School of Art, Drawing and Painting department.

1971
1971
1971

Born. Edinburgh. Scotland

Notable works

The Tam o’Shanter cycle of murals at Òran Mór.

Painting the ceiling of the auditiorium at Òran Mór for Alasdair Gray.

Manufacturing the Hillhead Subway Mural for Alasdair Gray, which was based on one of Nichol Wheatley’s drawings.

Ceiling of St Aloysious – in conjunction with Page and Park.

Portrait of David Dunbar – President of the Royal Incorporation of Architects Scotland.

Murals for set of Trainspotting 2.

Concept Artist for Outlaw King, the largest film production to date in Scotland.

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