Kevin Nutter: The Master of the Mural
Kevin Nutter started drawing at the age of three. Started selling paintings at 11 years old, and won his first mural and interior design contracts at the age of 14.
This early success set the course of Kevin’s life when he went on to study at Carlisle College of Art and Design in the mid-1970s. He trained further as a graphic designer and worked on hundreds of large and international advertising campaigns during the seventies. If you were alive then you will have seen Kevin’s work.
In the 90’s Kevin worked in scenes of crime investigation with the police in West Cumbria but an unfortunate accident meant he couldn’t continue his work: “It forced me to stop doing a job I loved and I was told I’d never work again but after 3 days of watching daytime TV I knew I couldn’t do that. I’d never stopped painting and drawing, so I slowly built up a business.
It was a lucky break because it was the time when “Changing Rooms” was on the television and everyone was looking for something unique in interior design.”
As a master artist Kevin works in all mediums, subject matters and styles, though he prefers the speed of acrylic paint and a figurative style.
With numerous celebrity portrait commissions of Sir Alan Ayckbourn, Clint Eastwood, Johnny Depp, John Wayne, Seve Ballesteros, Bjorn Borg, Damon Hill, Ayrton Senna, Matt Busby and Ray Mears, his works are included in some of the largest private collections in the UK, with works hung alongside some of the great old masters.
If he has a speciality then it is the creation of large murals which you will find in pubs, restaurants and nightclubs along with unusual creations like the steelworks commemorative mural in Workington, a skill he has honed since his early teens. The largest being 164m wide.
Kevin in the main creates commissioned pieces, continually consulting with the client to produce something that can be beyond their initial expectations, including the timeframe and budget. “Most people don’t realise they can have something special and unique with some imagination and skill”.
Recently Kevin and his wife Dot have taken over running the Daffodil Lane Studio and Gallery in a beautiful early Georgian townhouse near the corner of Long Lane in Fisher Street, part of the historic quarter of Carlisle
“It was just before Christmas last year. I asked if they would show my art in the gallery but the lady who owned it couldn’t continue due to ill health, so we took it on.” said Kevin.
Kevin’s work is also responsible for bringing him and Dot together. Both were working for the Carlisle Archaeological Unit when work started demolishing the medieval and Victorian lanes for the Lanes shopping complex in 1980. Kevin was illustrating the archaeological finds because even in the modern age all finds need to be illustrated, despite the invention of photography, and Dot was an archaeological digger on the site. The pals lost contact for 36 years, but with the help of social media got back in touch.
Kevin’s Great-Grandfathers six and seven times removed, are the world-renowned Cumbrian artists Matthew Ellis Nutter, who founded the Silloth School of Art and the Carlisle Academy of Art in 1823, and his son William Henry Nutter. Kevin has continued this tradition by teaching art in West Cumbria for over 25 years. He now enjoys taking art classes and workshops with a very relaxed and fun atmosphere in the Carlisle area.
Kevin has a solid pedigree so if you’re after a special piece of art then drop in and see him at Daffodil Lane Gallery; you never know what inspiration you might find.
To view Kevin’s work visit www.daffodillanestudio.com
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