Edinburgh artist Nicholas Martin reveals stunning collage of panoramic view of city from the castle

An artist has created a stunning collage of Edinburgh inspired by his memories of growing up in the city.

Let us know what you think and join the conversation at the bottom of this article.

Nicholas Martin created the artwork, named after the capital, by hand-painting individual pieces of paper which he then cut with scissors and stacked to create a panoramic view of Edinburgh from the castle.

Nicholas started the project from his home on the Isle of Wight during lockdown and worked on it over 10 months, with help from Google Earth.

Nicholas Martin with his piece 'Edinburgh'

“It took me a very long time to make,” said portrait artist Nicholas, who first created a city-scape when he was artist-in-residence at Brighton’s Royal Pavilion in 1986.

“I have done cityscape collages in the past and it’s always nice to get a bit of a change from painting portraits of other people.”

This piece is particularly close to his heart, having been born in the city and educated at Edinburgh Academy and Edinburgh College of Art.

“I love Edinburgh and I know it so well,” he said. “The first drawing I did when I was starting to imagine this collage was done from memory. I know the city so well because I used to walk around and took all the buses and everything.”

And those memories have been included in the artwork, which measures 2.5 metres by 1.5. All the people featured are based on relatives who still live in Edinburgh and Nicholas himself can even be seen bird watching next to the One o’Clock Gun.

“I remember the gun going off and it would send all the birds flying around and I’ve always been into bird watching so I wanted to include that,” he said.

“There are a lot of modern buildings in it but I wanted it still to have an old feel to reflect how I remember it. I wanted to do a positive, colourful, beautiful image of Edinburgh. It’s idyllic.”

Nicholas has also taken inspiration from both 1950s cartoons, of which he is a big fan, and his love for railway posters from the 1920s and 30s..

‘Edinburgh’ is set to visit its namesake city for a one-day exhibition on November 23. It will be on show at The Dundas Street Gallery from 11am until 5pm and the event will be free to attend.

For those who can’t make it, a free evening event will also be held at The Place cafe at Edinburgh Accies New Stand from 7pm until 9pm. This event is ticketed and anyone interested is asked to email Nicholas on [email protected].

Nicholas is now toying with the idea of creating another Edinburgh-inspired collage using views of the Old Town.

“It was a relief to have finished it but it felt strange when I put the last piece on,” he said.

“I just started thinking that I better do one of the Old Town. Nothing is set in stone but you never know, that might be a second one to work on.”

Prints of ‘Edinburgh’ are available to buy, with prices starting from £150. The piece itself is also on sale for £21,000.

“I really want it to go to a Scottish home, that would be my wish,” said Nicholas.

Anyone wishing to buy a print or the piece can contact Nicholas by email.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.