Distance has done little to dull Nicholas Huggins’ connection to home. Although the 36-year-old Creative Director has spent the last three months, 4,400 miles away in the UK, he has kept his focus firmly on Trinidad through a 30-day Street View challenge.
This digital pilgrimage—hunting for a different local landmark every 24 hours — reached its finale on his birthday, May 14.
His first drawing was the Gingerbread House on Ana Street in Woodbrook, which is currently being restored.
On day 15, he captured The Angelo Bissessarsingh Heritage House, while on day 23, he drew 58 Piccadilly Street, a listed heritage site of the National Trust.
To close the challenge, Nicholas chose the elegant Boissiere House at the Queen’s Park Savannah—a masterpiece of French Colonial architecture and a definitive icon of Trinidadian heritage.
How did this concept come about? The St Mary’s College alumnus needed a reference photo for a commissioned drawing. So, he turned to Google Maps Street View to find the address and thought: if he could find one house, why not 30?
“Most of my art is inspired by my surroundings in Trinidad,” Nicholas explains. “I wanted to do something that reminded me of home.”
He is inspired by a host of artists, but for this project he has been particularly drawn to the art of John Newel Lewis. The architect, who worked in Trinidad in the 1970s and 1980s, created many drawings of the built environment and was a founder of Citizens for Conservation. “I enjoy looking at his work and seeing a lot of these buildings which no longer exist. Perhaps in 50 years, many of these buildings I’m drawing won’t exist, but the record of the art will remain for future generations to view.”
Nicholas isn’t doing it alone.
He created an Instagram chat group where he shares a daily Google Maps link as a prompt for other creatives. On any given day, four to six artists take part.
“Art can be a very individual endeavour, which I sometimes enjoy but I am also a very social person, so the idea of mixing my love of art with my love of socialising and community involvement was interesting to me,” he says. “You can see how each person interprets the same thing in different ways.”
For the entrepreneur who moved from the advertising world to launching Backyard Design Co., these daily exercises are a test of efficiency rather than just a hobby. “Some days I have more time to refine a piece, while other days I’m busy with client work and have less time.
On average, each piece takes about two hours,” he tells Guardian Media. “I think the practice I got drawing last year allows me to complete them quite efficiently now.”
The practice he’s talking about is his 365-day drawing odyssey, which really started as a 100-day New Year’s resolution to master drawing from sight and watercolours. It then expanded into digital art, acrylics and charcoal, culminating in the December 2025 exhibition Tropical Dreams at the Art Society of T&T.
“It is definitely tough to keep consistent with work, but ultimately I love drawing, and even without these challenges I would end up drawing on most days anyway,” he reasons. “So they just help me to package what I am doing and give me a structure.”
His belief in the creative industries as a real career path began at “Saints”. There, he and a friend started designing and screen-printing T-shirts. “We had a Facebook page where we sold our designs, and we also created custom designs for parties, events, and individuals. That early hustle was enough to sustain my social life at the time. It led to me choosing to attend an art and design university,” he recalls.
In February 2025, he opened his own gallery/studio on Mucurapo Road. After 2024 sales proved encouraging, he renovated the space to give his art a permanent physical home where people can have coffee, chat, ask questions and engage in ways social media doesn’t facilitate. “It also allows me to do smaller events, similar to the one on May 23, where I show a particular collection of work.”
When he’s back, Nicholas also plans to expand his collection by specifically documenting local architecture. He is drawn to the utilitarian beauty of breeze blocks, ornate fretwork and high ceilings designed for the Caribbean climate. Of all his work, one standout is the popular Steel Pan Google Doodle, a project involving a collaboration with Etienne Charles and Dr Len “Boogsie” Sharpe, which was seen globally and succinctly brought together his love of art and country. “That also gave me the opportunity to collaborate with an amazing team at Google and a local creative team to bring the piece to life. That was definitely a pivotal and defining moment for me professionally.”
Asked how he would describe his personal aesthetic, Nicholas says, “It’s hard to define.” That’s because it ranges from ceramics and T-shirts to murals—though the subject matter is always local.
Still a student of the craft, he advises upcoming artists to keep practising. In a field where the word “talent” is often used, Nicholas believes it’s important to “recognise the amount of work required to reach a good artistic level. The creative industries can definitely be a lucrative career choice, but it can also not be lucrative. The trope of the starving artist exists for a reason,” he says.
