Nick Tankard

@nicktankard

Bloke & sometime Illustrator (I illustrated The Woman in Black by Susan Hill, published by Vintage Classics). Banner:Toby Jones in The Detectorists, a sign reads “ring pulls through the ages” Bradford nicktankard.co.uk Prints, Originals and Portfolio.

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Nick Tankard@nicktankard· 29d

I’m working late tonight because this project isn’t going to complete itself and my bills aren’t going to pay themselves. Crikey, it’s hard trying to make a living at the moment. Onwards! Anyhow, I’ve got this lovely album to keep me company. Sleep well, people of Bluesky.

The cover of Solitude Standing by Suzanne Vega. She holds her face with black gloves, the photograph is slightly out of focus.

Nick Tankard@nicktankard· 29d

More very old work from my portfolio. BILLY LIAR - Acrylic on canvas board. 41 x 30.5 £195 + P&P Email me at: nicktankardart@gmail.com

An acrylic painting white canvas board of a daft looking young man sitting on a steep and winding staircase in a stylised industrial city in the north of England. A spotlight is shone on him as he stares dreamily into the distance, one hand supporting his chin the other holding a flower. A large viaduct cuts across the illustration, the lower half of the city is shrouded in mist. The sky is a patchwork of squares in warm colours, some rough texture added with a sandy application. The words ‘BILLY LIAR’ in white with a thin black line around them across the top of the illustration. Very old work of mine when I was experimenting with colour and style, picking inspiration from various artists and sources, trying to find my way…much like young Billy here.
2002.

Nick Tankard@nicktankard· 29d

Very old work from my ‘portfolio’ (yep, an actual portfolio!) Charles Hawtrey in the ghost house - £85 (Charles is collage) 25.5 x 36 Sad musician - £50 (some collage) 36 x 25.5 Dolls Heads, Whitby - £100 36 x 25 Sail to the Moon - £50 40.5 x 28 +P&P Email me at: nicktankardart@gmail.com

A black pen on off white paper & a black & white photo collage cut out of Charles Hawtrey looking worried, hand to face as he rides a ghost train in a fun ground ghost house. A mummy wrapped in bandages with paper cut out facial features steps out of a coffin and gives charlieboy a right fright/thrill.

A black pen on white paper illustration of a sad looking man wearing a trilby hat and a snazzy beard plays an accordion in a northern city. A sad looking moon looks on as nature starts to reclaim the city, vines climbing lampposts. An advertising billboard shows a black & white photograph cut out of a woman vacuuming. Don’t ask me what it’s about?

A black pen on off white paper illustration of two Victorian looking fisherman out on a boat on a choppy sea near Whitby, the abbey and church on the cliffs behind them. One of the fishermen shines an oil lamp into the sea to witness many staring dolls heads bobbing about on the surface. Again, don’t ask me?

A black pen on off white paper Illustration of a sailor on a small steamboat sailing out into the stars above a planter. His boat is caught in the branches of a tree, he looks worried as a moon with a curly moustache looks on. You’ve got it…don’t ask me?

Nick Tankard@nicktankard· Jul 12

I’ll be having another gentle push on prints & original artwork from The Woman in Black, The Signalman and maybe some other older illustrations this coming week. Affordable artwork & some pricier ones…all worth it I hope you’ll agree! See you here tomorrow 👍🏻🤩👍🏻

A grid of black & white illustrations that I made for The Woman in Black.

Nick Tankard@nicktankard· Jul 12

If you see this, quote with your Night/Dark art! Signed giclee prints available of this illustration from The Woman in Black. £75 Email: nicktankardart@gmail.com

A giclee print of an illustration of a man outside a large Victorian house. His shadow is thrown across the muddy driveway by a light coming from the open front door, another man stands exhausted in the doorway. The back of a horse & cart behind the man. The house is situated on a small island surrounded by an estuary, a huge starry sky circles above, a galaxy of stars. Black crosshatched pen and rolled printing ink. Spooky and atmospheric.

Nick Tankard@nicktankard· Jul 11

Hi, are you looking to spend an absolute age to create artwork? Are you hoping that once you’ve found a time consuming technique that works you’ll think of a new way to make it even slower thus destroying your chances of earning money & having a career? Enrol today in ‘Nicks Fool School’

A circular photograph of a fool wearing spectacles (me) I smile foolishly at the camera probably trying to think of a way to extend my already never ending creative process. Black background with white writing around the circular image that reads “Nick Tankards Fool School”.

A photograph of my work in progress. On my desk I am using a sharp surgical scalpel to cut shapes into card, a stencil that will be used to print ink over crosshatched pen. Guinness Book of Records worthy dithering and time consuming creative process in action. Need work doing in a rush? I’d advise you to go elsewhere.

Nick Tankard@nicktankard· Jul 9

Today we visited a lovely old chap on the Lancashire/Yorkshire border. He’s getting on & his sight is going but he’s spent his life looking after animals. At the moment he’s got all of these along with Llamas, sheep, chickens, dogs, snakes, tortoise & cats. All Creatures Great & Small indeed.

An abandoned shed once used for an assortment of birds. Cages, pens, hutches. This area was like a film set.

A Macaw Parrot resting on a mans arm. Beautiful blue and yellow feathers and a white eye.

A Turkey with brown and white feathers and mottled red and blue fleshy head.

Nick Tankard@nicktankard· Jul 7

The Statue of Liberty, New York by Clare Caulfield. Signed giclee prints available from her Etsy shop cost just £85. Etsy link: www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1...

A painting of the Statue of Liberty and the city of New York across the river. Ferries and boats bob along the river, scuttling passengers to work and tourists between the islands. The river is a watercolour wash of pale green, the statue a pale blue, the city a mishmash of brown, grey, pink and cream. The statue has a brown star like shape at its base, green trees circle the base. A celebratory and joyful depiction of this exciting city and the statue, a symbol of freedom, peace and honesty.

Nick Tankard@nicktankard· Jul 6

Rialto Bridge, Venice. Another by my partner, Clare Caulfield. Watercolour, pastel and pencil. Giclee print: £94 plus P&P Check it out on Etsy: www.etsy.com/uk/listing/4...

A grey white bridge spans a canal, orange, yellow and pink buildings reflect in the water. There are many chimneys and TV antenna on the brown rooftops. On either side of the canal people stroll along pavements dotted with chairs and umbrellas, people dining by the canal side. A hotel, the Hotel Rialto sits at the foot of the steps of the bridge on the right of the painting. The bridge rises in an arched peak at its centre, other arched windows along the span of the structure. A warm yellow sky suggests a hot and sultry afternoon or early summer evening. Washes of watercolour with the details drawn in Clare’s spindly black line.

Nick Tankard@nicktankard· Jul 6

Congratulations to “the team!” 🤣🤣 I stayed up to watch it & it was one of the nuttiest football matches I’ve ever seen, an England player got a yellow card, oxygen and carried off & he wasn’t even playing! They were ruddy brilliant. I’m knackered 😴

Harry Kane in a football stadium, behind him is a clear board with stickers advertising various brands. A big green microphone is held by his chest ready to pick up his beautiful high pitched voice.

Nick Tankard@nicktankard· Jul 5

I’m going to make a concerted effort to put some more originals on here available to purchase. If England win tonight/tomorrow I’ll even throw in a packet of Chewits to the lucky purchaser! 🦖 This is ‘Out of the Woods’ £1000 I’ll post prices & sizes this week. Cheers & good luck England!

An original illustration by me of a bloke with a curly beard having a right nice walk in the woods.

Nick Tankard@nicktankard· Jul 5

Knackered after my early start this morning but I made it to the allotment to water our bath meadow & to stare lovingly at where the shed is going to go. I dug that massive bloody hole, a bloke did the concrete base. Shed ordered, this is where I’ll go to skive..sorry, WORK if Clare is reading this👀

A rusty old bath with some nice green grasses and meadow flowers growing in it.

A 8 x 6 concrete base and a little moat around it to fill with pebbles. Our future shed space.

Nick Tankard@nicktankard· Jul 5

Titus Descends, pen on paper, 2006. Handmade original illustration. Part of a series of illustrations I made about Titus Salt & his village of Saltaire. This illustration featured on a range of stationary produced & sold by Salts Mill. £1000 Email: nicktankardart@gmail.com for enquiries.

A black and white pen illustration of a man with a big curly beard making his way down a flight of stairs in a Victorian industrial northern town. Chimneys belch smoke and factories are lit while they grind on. Chimneys rise into a gloomy sky. The staircase descends ever deeper into the underworld.

Nick Tankard@nicktankard· Jul 4

I’m giving some serious thought to making these original illustrations available to purchase. I’ve held onto them for years. A Saltaire themed project that I ‘might’ return to one day & complete but I think I might like to move on. They’ve featured on stationary and prints at Salts Mill. Thoughts?

A bloke with a curly beard stands on a rocky outcrop surveying a landscape of mills, factories, smoking chimneys and rows of houses, a patchwork of fields in the far distance. A moody cloudy sky over the landscape. A bare tree bends over the bloke, a sort of Heathcliff type character, his coat flaps in the wind. Black crosshatched pen on white paper.

The curly bearded bloke sits on the branch of a tree low to the ground, a fire burning in front of him casting his shadow across the floor. A broken viaduct crosses a flowing river which meanders through a patchwork of fields towards a large industrial town in the distance. A star filled sky over the scene. Peaceful and serene. Yellow washes of watercolour, black and brown pen in a crosshatch technique over the watercolour.

Nick Tankard@nicktankard· Jul 4

My mum looking like somebody from a New York new wave band enjoying a day out in Saltburn a couple of years back. Young Silly Sally by her side. I miss my mum a lot.

An older but very cool looking lady. She sits in a wheelchair (she hated this chair) she wears a purple military style jacket, she wears dark shades and has short dark hair. Silly Sally the Labrador sits next to her enjoying her day out. Photo taken on a wooden pier, in the background Georgian period white buildings sit atop a green cliff. Sort of sunny sort of cloudy, typical weather for the north east coast of England. Mum looks feisty.

Nick Tankard@nicktankard· Jul 3

San Francisco, 2013.

A photograph of the steep sloping streets of San Francisco. A yellow striped pedestrian crossing at the top of a hill leads to a row of apartments that slope gently downhill, cars and trucks parked outside at precarious angles. A girl leans against the wall of the buildings checking her phone. In the distance the road slopes uphill, trees, houses and tall apartment buildings on the hillside are caught in the flare of the setting sun. Mellow.

Nick Tankard@nicktankard· Jul 3

Antrim Hills, Northern Ireland, 2024.

A small river snakes its way across green hills and moorland. Blue sky with some grey clouds.

Nick Tankard@nicktankard· Jul 3

Tromsø, Norway, 2012.

Tromsø, a colourful town of wooden houses nestled among tall and snowy mountains, snow on the roads and on the rooftops of the houses. A bridge rises to a peak at its central point in the the distance, it connects the island the town sits on with mainland Norway.

Green Aurora Borealis in a dark sky. Orange lights of a small town reflect in a stretch of water.

Nick Tankard@nicktankard· Jul 2

David Hockney paintings and the photographs of my visits to those locations. Cart Track & Pylons (near Woldgate Woods) and Tree Tunnel (near Kilham). East Yorkshire near Bridlington.

A photograph of a cart track with a pylon in the distance, hedges either side. Blue sky.

Watercolour painting of Cart Track & Pylon by David Hockney as described in previous photograph.

A photograph of a farm track with a natural tunnel of trees either side of the two tire tracks, sunlight creating areas of light and shade between the trees along the length of the track.

An oil painting of the Tree Tunnel by David Hockney as described in the previous photograph but much much better than my photograph. Hockney uses intensely bright colours to describe the beautiful colours of the countryside on a hot summers day. The track is yellow with lovely areas of pink & purple to depict the shadows of the trees on the track.

Nick Tankard@nicktankard· Jul 2

Ball shop, Cushendall, north east coast of Northern Ireland, 2024.

A pale blue corner shop with loads of brightly coloured and patterned balls in the windows. Apparently it also sold ice cream and treats according to the sign above the window but you couldn’t move for balls.

Nick Tankard@nicktankard· Jul 2

I seem to be wanting to escape the world/myself by going to the cinema a lot. Today was my third visit in the space of a week. Jodie Foster speaks and acts beautifully (to my ears anyway) in this French language film. I had absolutely no idea what was going on but I still enjoyed it very much.

A poster for the French film ‘A Private Life’ starring Jodie Foster. She stands in front of a wall of small wooden drawers or files, she has one open as she looks for information, she looks a bit shifty as she looks over her shoulder.

Nick Tankard@nicktankard· Jul 2

Gave myself a treat on the way into Bradford today by snapping rubbish photos of these two rather fetching stone Bulls head gatepost tops that I’d recently noticed outside METALTREAT GALVANIZERS. I must’ve driven/walked along this road thousands of times but never seen them before. Living the dream!

A bad photograph of a stone bulls head carving outside the very glamorous METALTREAT GALVANIZERS building near Bradford. Phooar!

Another bad photograph of a Bulls head stone carving.

Nick Tankard@nicktankard· Jul 2

Magnolia Bakery NYC - mixed media painting by my partner, Clare Caulfield. 11 x 14 giclee print: £94 + P&P Etsy link: www.etsy.com/uk/listing/7...

A watercolour, pencil and pastel painting of red stone shops and apartments in New York. Two awnings over corner stores, one in navy blue is called The Magnolia Bakery in white writing over the blue. Next door is a red awning with white writing, it says ‘Murray’s. The shops display their wares in the windows, cakes, bread, cheese. People walk on the pavement around the shops, a tall tree with delicate green leaves contrasts with the red stone buildings. A bright red fire hydrant on the sidewalk. A peaceful morning in a quiet neighbourhood of the big city.

Nick Tankard@nicktankard· Jul 2

The Warning Tree, Bolton Abbey, North Yorkshire, 2024.

A large old tree with bare branches stands at the edge of a steep drop over a river far below. Its trunk shows signs of damage and decay but ever the hero it holds its branches out, as if in warning “don’t come too near the edge, my boy”.

Nick Tankard@nicktankard· Jul 2

To keep you cool this summer. Sheep party, northern England, 2023.

Sheep enjoying their breakfast stand in at a circular feeder. Snow on the ground, early morning sunlight casting shadows from large bare trees. A town in a valley in the distance, misty hills beyond. Cold and peaceful.

Nick Tankard@nicktankard· Jul 1

New York, 2014

A slightly out of focus photograph of a person standing at a pedestrian crossing in Times Square, bright billboards and yellow taxis beyond the person.

An out of focus photograph of the back of a man in a long black coat walking snowy paths in New York.

Nick Tankard@nicktankard· Jul 1

Bromley, 2025.

The view out of a train window. Tall ferns crowd the carriage window, empty blue seats on the carriage.

Nick Tankard@nicktankard· Jul 1

An exciting email from the V&A East this morning about the Bowzer exhibition going on tour. I was a bit Partridge about the archive exhibition there last year but it’s great news that they’re taking it on tour with new items to see. I’m hoping to catch it in Hull in 2028!

A display of items that once belonged to David Bowie. A red guitar, a Union Jack coat and one of his balls from Labyrinth.

Nick Tankard@nicktankard· Jun 30

Notre-Dame Cathedral, Paris, April 2025.

A white marble statue standing on top of a rusty red metal structure. Behind it the buildings of Paris and a dark and heavy sky, rays of sunshine burst from the clouds behind the statue in a sort of religious imagery way, a message of sorts. The message?…”it’s going to pee it down”.

Nick Tankard@nicktankard· Jun 30

Cambridge Shops & Corpus Christi Clock by Clare Caulfield. Dry point and chine-collé. Signed limited edition giclee print: £164 + P&P. Etsy link: www.etsy.com/uk/listing/2...