The past few years have been something of a whirlwind for Dereham artist Nick Chinnery.
The 51-year-old shot into the spotlight after Delia Smith snapped up his entire portfolio of 101 paintings depicting Norwich buildings in order to adorn the walls of Yellows Bar and Grill at Carrow Road.
His lockdown project to complete one watercolour painting a day was a way of keeping busy and recovering mentally and emotionally from losing both his career and a long-term relationship in 2020.
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Mr Chinnery said: “I didn’t see a future at times.
“There’s a lesson out there that when you face adversity and massive struggles in your life, if you battle on and stick with what you believe in you can get through things.
“It still doesn’t seem real, to be honest. To see something that helped me through a tough period be recognised by someone with the magnitude of Norwich City FC is amazing, and still sinking in.”
Delia’s purchase came amid a wave of changes in Mr Chinnery’s life.
It allowed him to work as a full-time, self-employed artist for a year.
He also met a new partner, and they settled in Wymondham, before deciding to buy a house closer to home in Dereham, and they have just recently got engaged.
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Mr Chinnery said he had also returned to ‘regular’ work - managing a concrete processing plant - which has given him more stability and financial security.
But he said art remained a passion, and he still sometimes gets requests to paint on commission, or for prints of his previous works.
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Mr Chinnery said: “I have good days and bad days and sometimes think, if only I had a paintbrush in my hand more regularly.
"But we have to be sensible and cover the bills, and art is such a luxury item when people are struggling to make ends meet.”
He said since the Norwich series, he had focused on painting in a more ‘traditional’ style, with many of his more recent works featuring scenes of the north Norfolk coast.
Visit artnorfolk.co.uk/nick-chinnery.html to find out more.
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