Nicola Mountney

Nicola is originally from London and now lives in Tuscany. She worked for a major London costumiers, specialising in period costume for film and television, where She created many exhibitions in museums and historic houses throughout Europe and the USA. She moved to Tuscany in 2006 where she ran a Buddhist retreat centre in the Apennine mountains not far from Florence.

Nicola studied Buddhist thangka (scroll) painting where there is a strong emphasis on colour and attention to detail. She has since moved away from Thangka painting, but this background along with travels to Asia have led her to create a unique fusion where East meets West.

Nicola is inspired by the Italian artist Guiseppe Castiglione (Lang Shining), 1688-1766 who introduced Western-style painting with perspective into Chinese art and in doing so became one of the greatest court painters in China.

‘When I paint, I’m not striving to present something that I have seen, rather, what I have thought. My paintings are not an open window for the viewer’s eye, but the viewer’s mind – creating a calming atmosphere of balance and serenity – where landscapes abound with mountains, streams and foliage allowing viewers to travel in their imagination.’

Solo and group exhibitions have been in England and Italy. Nicola has collectors in Europe, Asia and USA.