ARTFEED — Contemporary Art Intelligence

Nick Miller's Portrait Marathon in Williamsburg Hotel Studio

artist · 2026-04-22

So, Nick Miller, an artist from Ireland, is in Williamsburg, New York, for a month, focusing on painting portraits. He’s set up in a hotel studio that's funded for artists and is cranking out a portrait every single day. He kicks things off with a quick twenty-minute watercolor session before diving into a more detailed oil painting on canvas or board. His subjects are a mix of poets and artists, including Barry Schwabsky, Joe Wolin, Peter Plagens, collector Frank Williams, Corban Walker, and Glen Fuhrman from the FLAG Art Foundation. Back in 2010, he painted a writer in County Sligo while getting ready for an exhibition of his "truck paintings." Each person he paints gets a watercolor as a thank-you, and he spends his evenings reading works by future sitters like Colm Tóibín and James Lasdun, which he finds both rewarding and exhausting.

Key facts

  • Nick Miller is visiting from Ireland for one month
  • He paints one portrait subject daily in Williamsburg, NY
  • Sitters receive a watercolor for their participation
  • Miller uses a twenty-minute watercolor warm-up before oil painting
  • His studio is in a subsidized hotel for artists with high ceilings
  • Previous sitters include Barry Schwabsky, Joe Wolin, and Peter Plagens
  • Collector Frank Williams and artist Corban Walker have also sat
  • Glen Fuhrman of the FLAG Art Foundation is among the subjects
  • Miller painted the author in 2010 in County Sligo, Ireland
  • The 2010 session was for a New York Studio School exhibition
  • Miller's "truck paintings" were created in a customized telecom van
  • The vehicle now sits on stilts outside his studio
  • Evenings are spent reading works by upcoming sitter-writers
  • Colm Tóibín and James Lasdun are among the writers on his schedule
  • The portrait sessions provide Miller with daily social interaction
  • He describes himself as physically exhausted after each painting day

Entities

Artists

  • Nick Miller
  • Barry Schwabsky
  • Joe Wolin
  • Peter Plagens
  • Corban Walker

Institutions

  • New York Studio School
  • FLAG Art Foundation

Locations

  • Williamsburg
  • New York
  • United States
  • Ireland
  • County Sligo

Sources