Nick Savides

Book Club, Oil Painting

2024

Artist Comments
Artist Nick Savides took inspiration from a Book Club Bar on East 3rd Street in the East Village in New York City. Intrigued by its open-front design, he studied the space at different times of the day. Nick captured the full interior and extended the view to the garden in the back. On the left, a door reflects a surreal scene, merging the outdoor street with the seated figures inside. Meanwhile, patrons lose themselves in books and drinks.

About the Artist
Nick learned to paint from his mother when he was a child, but it wasn’t until college that he decided to be a career artist. His realist images of New York City are inspired by the drama of the city–the changing light, the spontaneous magic. Nick begins his process with reference photographs from his daily life, often shooting the same scene at multiple times of the day. He brings the images back to his Brooklyn studio where he composes a scene in Photoshop, adding and subtracting elements from multiple photographs to achieve the perfect composition before beginning to paint. “As my artwork is realistic, one might be tempted to think they are copies from nature,” says the artist. “Really, they are composed–every detail is considered. It is a balance between what is seen, what is true to nature, and what can make a good painting.”

Words that describe this painting: book club, East Village, NYC, New York, Hopper, Hopperesque, urban, city, facade, bar, cafe, shop, facade, script, sidewalk, crowd, architecture, travel, realism, oil painting, beige

Book Club
Nick Savides
Oil painting on stretched linen
Finished white edges
Ready to hang
One-of-a-kind
Signed on front
2024
36 in. h x 48 in. w x 1.5 in. d
7 lbs. 10 oz.