Natural creation

Among Nick Curry’s art collection is a pastel sketch called Two Trees. Rich in earth tones, the drawing is the 68-year-old artist’s favorite because it reminds him of a happier time in his life.

Curry and wife Lillian were enjoying a peaceful afternoon in Fairmount Park when she asked her husband to sketch two trees that had caught her attention. Side by side, the beautiful trees could almost be perceived as one — just like husband and wife. So Curry whipped out his sketchpad and went to work.

That was 19 years ago.

Curry says he feels even more sentimental about the sketch because he and Lillian have since separated.

Captivating in its realism, Two Trees has drawn many potential buyers — but Curry’s not selling.

At least not this one.

The artist, of the 1600 block of South 24th Street, has sold close to 200 oil paintings and ink and pastel sketches, many of which were commissioned. He’s even done some oil on velvet, a rather unusual canvas, admits Curry.

Most of his works hang in homes throughout the area, he notes.

Curry relies on his memory rather than pictures or props to create his art.

Remarkably, he never took an art class or received formal training.

"God gave me this talent. He was my teacher," says Curry.

Originally from New York, the artist created his first painting in school at age 8.

"It was Santa Claus," he says with a chuckle. Old St. Nick went on to win Curry a first-place prize. And he’s been painting on and off ever since.

But like many artists, Curry found he could not support himself and his family solely through his talent.

To supplement his income, he held down jobs as a welder and tailor.

"I was always using my hands," he notes.

In the 1950s, Curry was employed as a tailor for Fishman and Tobin, formerly at Broad and Carpenter streets. After that, he worked for a welding shop at 11th and Christian streets, just a few blocks from his home at Fifth and Christian.

At night, Curry would trade in his tools of the blue-collar trade for instruments of the arts.

Most nights the artist would burn the midnight oil — sometimes creating as many as four paintings a night, he recalls.

Nature always has been a favorite theme of his.

"No matter what we do, we come back to nature. It’s where we started," he says.

Curry used to have a garden across the street from his current home, where he grew collard greens, cabbage, spinach, okra and more.

Hewas even a judge for the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s City Gardens Contest. So honored was he to have been selected for the duty four years running, he still keeps one of his judge ribbons on a side table in his dining room.

Although fond of flowers, Curry never became interested in representing them in his art.

Curry’s favorite artists span many schools — from Impressionism to Surrealism. Vincent van Gogh, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali are among the great masters he admires.

"I think I have a part of all of it and when I paint, it comes out in different ways," Curry says of his artistic genres.

His influences are evident in the many works he has framed in his Point Breeze home.

Health Food, completed in December, screams Dali with a split avocado and egg perched atop a piece of salmon and spinach.

A yellow, orange and red oil painting resembles the work of Abstract Expressionist Jackson Pollock.

Curry gave up oils a few years ago, and these days works exclusively in the ink and pastel mediums. He says he likes the way the pastels feel but admits they can be messy.

The artist creates his portraitures with blue pen.

He says it took him three days just to detail the long braids of a girl in an ink sketch that hangs in his living room.

The only sketch on display of a family member is of Curry’s 29-year-old daughter, Linda. "She doesn’t like it, I don’t know why," her father says with a smile.

Curry has three other children from his marriage — Nick, 31; Barbara, 34; and Tina, 27. He also has 14 grandchildren.

He now lives alone, but his sketchpad, tools and dog Buster keep him company. The 135-pound pit bull has his own compound in the artist’s backyard.

Life was going along just fine until January 2003, when Curry fell ill. One day he woke up unable to move his legs. He spent the next few weeks in Methodist Hospital and after his release, was confined to a wheelchair.

Doctors never found out what caused his mysterious illness, he says.

At a personal crossroads, Curry turned to his beloved art.

"With God’s help, that is the thing that really got me back on my feet. I believe my paintings have saved my life," he says.

During that difficult time, food became Curry’s muse. And he says he knows exactly why.

The artist had trouble eating and needed a prescription drug to aid his ability to swallow. He gradually worked his way up from baby food to other sustenance. Some of the still-lifes created during that rough patch are of steak and potatoes, waffles and other hearty delights of which he could only fantasize.

"I was so hungry, but I couldn’t eat," the artist says.

Determined to do whatever he can to protect his health now, Curry rides his bike every day around South Philly and does pushups. A nurse and physical therapist pay occasional visits.

Although he’s not working on anything special at the moment, the artist knows his next muse could be just around the corner.

"I may lose the inspiration at times, but I will never lose the gift," he says. "That will stay with me to my dying day."