Working with pastels is a rewarding challenge. The delicacy of the medium allows for a soft, velvety texture and a vivid, lifelike quality that lends itself beautifully to both portraiture and still life. It creates a surface that feels at once light and rich, offering both depth  and atmosphere.

I draw inspiration from the 18th-century masters of pastel, such as Rosalba Carriera and Maurice Quentin de La Tour. This was a period of dynamic contrast, where elegance and change existed side by side. It's a time that continues to fascinate me, a world of beauty, drama and poetic tension.

I seek to express this duality in my work, where joy and vulnerbility coexist, and moments of stillness hint at deeper narratives.. A perfectly balanced composition may suggest motion, and a calm sky may quietly hold the power of a storm. These contrasts invite the viewer to linger, reflect, and feel.

Tobias Ekman Nilsson

Born in Sweden, studied at the Nordic Art School in Kokkola, Finland, and graduated after studies at Gerrit Rietveld Academie.
Now lives and works in Amsterdam.