Nicola Organ - October 2025
Nicola Organ is a UK-based painter whose work explores landscape through colour, light, and layered mark-making. Her practice often draws from direct observation, translating environments into compositions that balance structure with a more fluid, atmospheric approach. She stayed at House of Hulda in October 2025.
Organ’s work is grounded in painting as a sustained, attentive process - building surfaces over time and responding closely to shifts in light and environment. Her paintings often hold a sense of movement, shaped by repeated looking and reworking.
During her two-week residency, she experienced a level of focus that was new to her practice. “Being immersed in such a beautiful landscape, with the time and space to slow down and focus fully on painting, was something I had never experienced before.” With fewer interruptions, she was able to commit to painting daily, allowing her process to unfold more continuously than usual.
Although initially apprehensive about staying alone, that hesitation quickly gave way to a sense of ease. “I quickly felt safe and at ease, even during the stormy nights.” This shift allowed her to settle into a rhythm where observation and painting became closely linked.
The landscape offered constant variation - changes in light, colour, and movement that fed directly into her work. She describes the environment as “vast and wild,” with shifting conditions throughout the day becoming an active part of her visual language. Encounters with wildlife and moments such as seeing the aurora borealis added to this sense of intensity, reinforcing her focus on atmosphere and change.
“The residency has been deeply inspiring and continues to inform my work.”
Since her stay at House of Hulda, Organ continues to develop her painting practice, with the experience remaining a strong reference point in her ongoing work.
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