Art inspired by the Cornish coast

From J M W Turner to Barbara Hepworth, the seaside town of St Ives in Cornwall has long been a magnet for artists, thanks to its renowned end-of-the-world light, stunning coastline and mild climate allowing plenty of time outside to soak in the landscape.

 

Celebrating this long tradition, St Ives’ Porthminster Gallery will soon open an exhibition of five artists inspired by Cornwall’s seascapes. Entitled Coast, the show features a diverse group of painters and ceramicists (the town has built up a reputation for its potters ever since Bernard Leach and Shoji Hamada set up there in the 1920s).

 

 

Works include those by Andrew Bird, a painter who explores the relationships between colour, texture and form to evoke places. Although based in Derbyshire, he spends a lot of time in Cornwall and for this exhibition, has taken inspiration from the county’s ‘hustle and bustle of harbours and coastal life’.

 

Alex Morton, who works from his studio overlooking Newquay’s Fistral Beach, is influenced by his love of surfing, capturing on canvas the energy and dynamics of sea, wind and shore.

 

 

The paintings of Martyn Perryman, another Cornwall-based artist, are shaped by his regular walks along the coastal paths and beaches around St Ives. He says he tries to recreate ‘the calmness and clarity of mind that can be achieved when looking out to a horizon; free from the pressure and visual clutter of urban life.’

 

Complementing the work of these expressive painters will be the ceramic vessels of British artists Clare Conrad and Barry Stedman.

 

The exhibition runs from 13 February to 12 March 2016 at the Porthminster Gallery  (open 11am-5pm; closed Wednesdays and Sundays).