Pot man imortalised in charcoal.

Dick Ede - One of the country's few traditional withy pot makers

One of the many charcoal drawings that will be shown in an exhibition at the Tolcarne Inn, Newlyn next month by local artist Nick Henshall.

Born August 1968, Nick was raised in land locked Cheshire. His appetite for the ocean life was firmly cemented during childhood holidays lobster fishing in Anglesey. After studying art at North Cheshire College, nineteen year old Nick moved to Newlyn, Cornwall working as a fisherman on a variety of vessels – including crabbers, netters, trawlers and inshore boats. He continued to develop his art work, studying life drawing and selling pictures throughout the 1990s, mainly through the Penzance Gallery (Tony Sanders).

In 1994, Nick gained his Class II deck officer qualification with plans to further his fishing career. Unfortunately, a motorcycle accident left him seriously injured, and a forced change of direction took Nick to working on traditional square riggers, acting as first mate on a replica 19th century schooner. Nick returned to Newlyn to start and raise a family. Unable to pursue his offshore fishing career, he worked as a boat builder, a welder, as mate and relief skipper on a local commercial dive vessel, and fished his own inshore lobster boat. In 2009, he began to learn the dying art of withy lobster and crab pot making, one of the inspirations for his recent return to his artistic background.

The rich tapestry of Nick’s life in Newlyn has added a depth of knowledge and understanding that those merely acting as bystanders are rarely privy to. His art work is inspired by the fishermen, boats and people of Newlyn with whom he has a genuine personal relationship and history.