British artist Adam Oehlers has been drawing for as long as he can remember and has always been attracted to themes rooted in nature and magic. “It’s a soft kind of magic I like to focus on,” he says, “with hidden sprites and creatures that are almost a part of the landscape. I try to tell a story through every piece. My overall goal is to induce a sense of nostalgia for the older viewers, reminding them of the childhood wonder that seems to get lost in adult life.” This has become even more relevant to him since having children, remembering how to play and reminding himself of how children might view the world. He’s also been collaborating with his wife, artist Nom Kinnear King, since they met fifteen years ago, who he says is an “endless source of inspiration for me.”
As a family, they take countless walks in the woodlands and countryside near their home in Norwich, having adventures and finding enchantment in “the stories that we make up for the kids and that they make up for us.” His art is about “trying to amplify the natural magic” that already surrounds them and remembering that “we are all still surrounded by a little magic, and though it’s difficult to see, it is there. You just have to look a little more closely sometimes.”
