Welcome to Notes of a Painter, can you believe it’s 2025?! If you’re new, it’s lovely to have you here. Each month I’ll be sharing updates from my studio, what it’s like to be a painter, some processes and art history research, which is a a huge influence and inspiration for me, and some special discount offers, just for you.
This year is going to be huge for me as a Painter and I am so excited that you’re hear on this journey with me, thank you. There are some planned events and space for the unknown to happen too. I ended 2024 and began 2025 on the East Yorkshire coast in Hornsea. For those of you new to my posts Hornsea is a very special place for me, last August I got married there and my husbands family have a house that we stay at regularly that looks right out onto the seafront, I am so grateful for this. Whilst I was there over the Christmas break, I had the space and time to read, write and paint on my iPad.
31st December 2024 - 4th January 2025, Hornsea, East Yorkshire.
I am a child of Constable, and never do I feel this more in Hornsea. Being by the sea in East Yorkshire reminds me of growing up in the Suffolk landscape, not far from where John Constable (1776-1837) painted his skyscapes and landscapes. The lay of the land is quite flat towards the coast in East Yorkshire and the skies can swallow you up and change within a moment. I feel like the sea speaks to me. Yesterday I flicked through my father in-law ‘Conversations with David Hockney’ book, it reminded me to paint on my iPad, something I haven’t really done for a while. So, whilst they watched Man United lose to Newcastle I painted some photos of sunrises and sunsets i’d taken on my iPhone. The joy in painting, even if it’s digital, reinforces that I am a painter to my soul.
For the next few days whilst staying in Hornsea I got up to watch the sun rise. Sun rise this time of year is around 8.20am, but from 7.30 the light starts to appear and break through the cracks in the clouds, this is when all the drama happens. I am so grateful that the house we stay at has a direct view of sun rise over wind farms way out to sea, with Amsterdam beyond that, early int he morning you can see the planes leaving the airport like fireworks climbing in the sky. Each day the light was different and the waves got bigger and more dramatic. The sea gulls fought over breakfast left by locals out walking their dogs. I will treasure these moments of calm. I plan to continue to capture seascapes throughout the year in each season when we visit Hornsea. As you can see in the gallery below, each day had a different story, a sense of drama to start the day. I used my iPad and apple pencil and Procreate to capture these scenes, its feels just like sketching and painting but I don’t need to be messy in the studio do to it. This gives me a sense of freedom, I paint anytime, anywhere and painting is always about the process for me, rather than the outcome.
Prints of my digital seascapes are now available through my online shop, and come in a range of sizes to fit all spaces.
Speak soon
Rae
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