Walking on a Cornish beach is a constant source of inspiration (therefore excitement) and relaxation for me. How it can be both at the same time is maybe a bit odd but when I’m wandering with my camera and looking at all the natural patterns and textures in front of me I find I’m thinking of nothing else. It’s a form of mindfulness where you find yourself in “the zone” and time just disappears.
This image is of water flowing across rock ledges exposed at low water and watching all the colours and light shift into different patterns as the water moves is very calming, even though it’s quite chaotic, always changing. It seems to slow me right down as I concentrate on the details, looking for the best angle that incorporates (or excludes) certain shells, pebbles, rock surfaces or seaweeds. There’s no thoughts of anything else in the world and, particularly at the moment, that’s a very good place to be.
This intimate landscape was found on the beach at Prisk Cove near Rosemullion Head at the mouth of the Helford River on a hot August afternoon. Since the buoy just off shore from the beach where this image was found marks the reef called August Rocks the title for this piece had to be “August Rockpool”.
It has been printed with a glossy finish on ultra thin aluminium to accentuate the rich colours and deep contrasts. Framed in white tulipwood it is available in a limited edition of 5.
“August Rockpool” was part of the Prime Women Artists “Still Life” exhibition at The Poly in Falmouth from 11 to 15 March 2025.
The Prime Women Artists group invited artists to submit work exploring stillness, stating “In this exhibition, we explore and expand the Still Life genre by inviting artists to think about stillness, be it physical, emotional or conceptual. From the quiet beauty of everyday objects simply gathered, arranged and captured to glimpsed moments of stillness in the natural world to abstract representations of emotional stillness, we ask what it means to be still in a time of constant motion and flux.”
In 2022 “August Rockpool” was also selected for the Imagine Falmouth open exhibition held at the Falmouth Art Gallery from 26 November 2022 to 28 January 2023.
