Pastels Can Be Punk Rock
Like millions of other people, I’ve always struggled with my mental health. Anxiety attacks, depression, low self-confidence, paranoia, OCD, imposter syndrome and so on, throw in ADHD and dyslexia and you get a heady mix.
About:
Nigel describes himself as a completely untrained and unskilled excuse for an artist. 😊 At best an Outsider Artist, although he risks the wrath of established outsider artists by trying to clamber onto their exalted ranks.
That being said. A fair number of people have taken pity on him and either bought works (heaven knows why or what for) or complimented him on his work (the way most compliment a two-year-old on their stick drawings). As a result, he began to believe his own hype and now lives under the impression (arguably delusion) that he’s almost semi competent. Included in these ranks is UNISON COLOUR who unbelievably have included him as an Associate Artist since 2020 for which he is eternally grateful although he’s still waiting for the email to say it was all a mistake!
Nigel’s work under his moniker Hope and Mania between 2018 and 2022 focused mainly on folklore and also, challenges in contemporary society. Under his new moniker DeBunkR his work tends to focus on overcoming mental health challenges. He can be emailed at debunked@debunkr.co.uk as he currently doesn’t do social media.
Blogs by Nigel Smith
Chunky, and a bit crumbly
Nigel Smith's story begins as a child, but it’s not until his 40s, when spurred on by family members at a time dealing with grief and mental health problems, that he puts his art in to action.
Locked Down and Dirty
One of the good things about lockdown this year has been reducing the commute between me and my Unison pastels.
