Art for everyone: A room with a view

Ever since I was very small I think I’ve hankered after a sea view. And now as an artist I think I want to give everyone a room with a view.
 Like lots of people I associate the sea with holidays, whether its an overcast day on a British beach, or a tropical paradise; the sea often means well deserved R&R.
For us Brits, an island nation, we’re never further than 73 miles from the sea and I think there is a collective love and awe of the seas around us.

For quite a chunk of my 20s I lived very near the sea (about two rows back from it) and it undoubtedly still features in my work.

When I moved away from Bournemouth, my husband found us a house with an amazing view and a studio already build in the garden. The view isn’t the sea, but it’s wonderful, huge and expansive. On the North side of Salisbury ( the 7th best city in the world to visit according to Lonely Planet), we overlook the valley to see the ancient origin of the city, Old Sarum.

Most landscape artists are obsessed with light; the immense skies above me serve as a constant inspiration. The landscape below so often acts just like a seascape, reflecting the sky above, creating a mood and atmosphere. Reminding me, and ultimately any viewer of my paintings, of a place, feeling or emotion.

I am often working on landscapes based on the areas around Salisbury, but have most recently been working on my coastal collection. Largely inspired by the Dorset coastline, but also sometimes reminiscent of places further afield. The light in the sky can be bright and strong from the tropics, or warm pinks reminding us of the French impressionists, golden Italian light and even blue and grey shades of Britain. My experiences and the view in front of me inform my work.

There isn’t a political message in my coastal collection, nor a hidden agenda. It’s quite simply about giving everyone room with a view. Art can do that. Art can make our living space beautiful. We can wake up to a cup of coffee and a sea view in our kitchen, without moving house, so long as we have art.

As Denholm Elliot’s character Mr Emmerson said in A Room with a View “Why shouldn’t they have their view if they want it?”
Go on, have your view, if you want it.

Click here to see the Sea collection