'A SENSE OF PLACE' - scenic acrylic paintings inspired by a love of the Oxfordshire countryside and Cornish coastline. I will be exhibiting my colourful land and seascape paintings in Watlington's iconic Town Hall with four other artists.
This exhibition celebrates meaningful places that bring back memories and evoke special feelings... my paintings are rooted in my Cornish childhood where I had a constant source of inspiration, from tiny picturesque fishing coves to the dramatic raw power of the sea. Now that I live in the foothills of the Chilterns, I find that I am still drawn to water and so the River Thames features in many of my paintings too.
I paint mostly on canvas, but lately, I have really enjoyed creating wooden postcard paintings and miniatures on log slices. I hope you enjoy my exhibition, and please contact me if you are interested in a piece or if you would like me to undertake a commission.
In my younger days when I lived in Cornwall, I would quite often climb on to the rocks and do some en plein air painting or sketching with a friend. Nowadays, time constraints and the demands of three young children mean I usually work from photos instead. I still visit Cornwall every year, taking my family to old haunts and topping up my image library whilst I’m at it.
I have lived in Oxfordshire for the past 13 years, and my painting is still influenced by idyllic locations and views. Lockdown has definitely brought me closer to nature too, from all the daily walks we took our children on in the woods and in the Chiltern Hills. Whilst my son was fascinated with all the birds and stopping to watch them, I was distracted by the shape of fallen branches or the patterns of the natural world, noticing plants and leaves more and wishing I knew their names! I feel that my painting may take a new direction as a result, so watch this space.