Discover the creative journey of Nick Holdsworth, a visionary artist and designer whose innovative work in the fashion industry continues to inspire.
In 1998, Nick launched his cult label, Purple Om / Random, gaining global recognition with his T-shirt brand featured in prestigious stores such as Harvey Nichols, Harrods, Liberty, Collette in Paris, and Barney’s in Tokyo. His pioneering approach, influenced by ’90s psychedelic imagery and youth culture, established him as an early innovator in designer T-shirts. He has also collaborated with renowned brands like Levi’s Red-Japan, Eliminator-Japan, Block 60-Italy, Griffin Studio-UK, and Harvey Nichols.
Nick’s artistic process blends digital techniques with nostalgic inspiration. He begins by researching his subject and meticulously retouching images using Photoshop’s layered approach, often hundreds of separate layers. By pixelating and overlaying familiar brand icons, he transforms these images into striking monochromatic mosaics.
He then digitally hand-paints each layer,using the layers he’s created to lighten contrast or flatten tones in order to colour the visual which he’ll use for reference for the final painting. The finished visual contains layers with colour swatches that Nick will use to mix his inks. Nick then very carefully and meticulously hand paints the mosaic with ink, adding, colour, tone, form and detail, further perfecting the final piece over many hours, typically 40-60 hours is taken on the hand painting process.
His latest work focuses on colour, texture, and intricate detail, treating each pixel as an individual element, inviting viewers to lose themselves in his art.
