A return to the comic universe for Nigel Humphries

Featured art (L-R): 'Avengers Assemble', £375, 'Deadpool Rides Again', £295, and 'Rocket and Groot - Partners in Crime', £295 by Nigel Humphries. Limited edition, hand-varnished canvas artworks on board.

The new pieces

'Three is the Magic Number' shows how Spider-Man’s costume has changed in the various films, and has involved Nigel in a close study of the subtle differences between them. “If you talk to Spider-Man fans, everyone has their favourite version, so I did them all!

'Partners in Crime' are a great duo, because you can put them in so many different scenarios. I’ve made Groot massive and Rocket smaller, the reverse to my previous pieces of them. I like to add humour in a piece when I can, and you can see the alien in the spaceship behind them who is shocked to see them.

'Avengers Assemble' for a long time, as it’s a great film and it’s always good to paint characters I’ve not done before. 'Wolverine Rage' shows Wolverine in battle mode, whereas 'Deadpool Rides Again' is a result of wanting to do something with colour and humour and his obsession with unicorns.

Making more magic

Because Nigel’s collectors are so knowlegeable, he does meticulous research for his paintings, and wants to include as much detail as possible to make everything right, especially the costumes. “Iron Man has lots of components in his costume, and so he takes a lot more research,” he explains.”And I listen to dramatic music from the films that goes with the characters, which helps me get in the right frame of mind”.

There are several stages for each painting, beginning with a rough thumbnail sketch to start with. Nigel sometimes makes charcoal sketches on the canvas so he can get the right flowing shapes for the way clothes hang.

“I was a comic fan as a kid, and Spider-Man and Batman were the main ones - Spiderman is still one of my favourites!”

Nigel Humphries hand-signs his new limited edition artwork at Castle Fine Art.