Nigel has been a full-time artist since leaving the teaching profession at Cargill High School, Invercargill in 1997 where he was associate art teacher for 7 years. He has a fine arts degree from Ilam university in Canterbury, where he was tutored by Don Pebbles. In 2000 Nigel moved to Alexandra where he continues to boldly paint the Otago Landscape.
In describing Nigel's work a critic wrote positively about an exhibition: "Nigel Wilson's work captures the raw, natural beauty and distinct character of New Zealand's southern landscapes through expressive, impassioned brushwork and vibrant descriptive colour. From a distance Wilson's works provide an imposing scene but up close they are even more arresing. Oil paint has been applied with variety, energy and certainty, with each stroke having a compelling autonomy".