Nicholas Kilmer's approach to painting captures the intensity of the first moment of observation. By working in series, he revises the classic impressionist technique of revisiting the same scene several times to experience the ephemeral qualities of light, atmosphere and illusion. As well, the artist strives to simultaneously keep in mind his initial response to the scene.

In Kilmer's vast body of work, he hopes to impart to the viewer a technique that he terms "the speed of looking", in that his hands are often moving before his mind has caught up with the artistic process. The artist wants viewers to experience the speed of initially witnessing and taking in a scene, regardless of how long it may have taken him to work out the finer details. Kilmer elaborates, "Nothing stands still in nature. I want the object I make to read like one blow of a hammer, one very intense act of looking."

Color is so fundamentally important to imparting Kilmer's vision that his bright, vibrant palette almost reads symbolically. He does not always choose a subject for its color, however color may become the subject of a painting. Often times, the artist will concentrate deeply on one color he sees, and frequently intensifies hues to parallel how he experiences it. The artist explains that narrative does not play a large role in understanding his message: "If my paintings are about anything, it is the way life defies gravity. But the painting is neither a story nor a symbol."

Although Kilmer is known for working rapidly and spontaneously, he paints with great concentration. He prefers to work directly from nature. Over the last decade, Kilmer's subjects have included friends' gardens, bodies of water, the human figure, his own backyard and the countryside of Normandy where his grandfather, Frederick Frieseke also painted. He particularly enjoys the challenge of translating from three to two dimensions, or from one scale to another, as well as transforming living people and organic elements into lines, colors and shapes on a canvas. He believes this is the act that truly charges his work with action and energy.

Nicholas Kilmer's numerous accomplishments include commissions for murals in private homes, serving as Dean of the Swain School of Design in New Bedford, MA. He is the author of many books, travel memoirs and mysteries. 

Kilmer was the guest curator at the Telfair Museum of Art who organized "Frederick Carl Frieseke: The Evolution of an American Impressionist", an ambitious retrospective exhibit that showcased Frieseke's lifelong fascination with beauty.