New Signs for Art At The Beach at Mawgan Porth
Maybe the Cornish wind knew it was time.
My old Art At The Beach sign was blown off the wall and damaged in one of the storms… but after 10 years at Mawgan Porth Beach, perhaps it was time for a fresh sign anyway.
Seeing the new signs together feels rather special. They show the two parts of Art At The Beach more clearly… the art lessons on the beach, and the Art At The Beach Gallery, now based with the wonderful Betty’s Surf Shop and online.
For 10 years, Art At The Beach has been part of Mawgan Porth Beach in Cornwall. Ten years of art lessons, paintings, commissions, conversations, friendships, sea air, laughter, returning visitors, nervous beginners finding confidence, families painting together, children discovering they can do more than they thought, and lovely people stopping to say hello.
I spent eight of those years in my own Art At The Beach shop, and for the last two years I have been very lucky to have my gallery and base with the wonderful Betty’s Surf Shop. The place has shifted slightly over the years, but the heart of it has stayed the same.
Art At The Beach has always been about more than painting.
It is about helping people slow down enough to notice. Looking at the sea, the sky, the cliffs, the light, the colours and the movement. Understanding what your eyes are really seeing. Letting the mind settle. Finding confidence through simple knowledge. Sharing a chat, a laugh, a story, or one tiny technique that suddenly makes something click.
Sometimes someone only stops for a few minutes… a brushstroke, a shadow, a line of perspective, a small visual clue… but even that can change the way they look at things.
That is what I love most. Art does not have to feel intimidating. You do not have to arrive already confident. You do not have to know what you are doing before you begin. With the right knowledge, art becomes calmer, clearer and far more possible.
The art lessons are built around sketch, perspective and paint. I often describe this as the grammar, spelling and punctuation of art… the structure underneath the painting that helps people understand what they are seeing and grow their own technique, rather than simply copying without understanding.
Sketch helps people draw out their potential. It is about observation, proportion, light, shadow, confidence and learning to trust what you see.
Perspective helps people change the way they look at the world. On Mawgan Porth Beach, the landscape becomes the classroom… eye level, distance, reflections, atmosphere, cliffs, sand, sea and sky are all there in front of us.
Paint helps people see the bigger picture. Colour, tone, brushwork, light, movement and feeling all begin to connect, and the painting starts to make sense.
The Art At The Beach Gallery is the other side of the story. It is where original paintings, prints and commissions by me, and work by my students, can be seen at Betty’s Surf Shop in Mawgan Porth and online. It matters to me that people can see not only my own artwork, but also what students can achieve when they are given knowledge, encouragement and a way into seeing for themselves.
Who wouldn’t love being on a beach in Cornwall, painting, chatting and meeting wonderful people?
So here’s to new signs, old stories, fresh chapters, and everything Art At The Beach has become over the last 10 years at Mawgan Porth Beach.
Art At The Beach, Mawgan Porth, Cornwall
Art lessons, original artwork, prints, commissions, online courses, Zoom lessons and creative experiences.
Gallery and base: Betty’s Surf Shop, Mawgan Porth
Website: www.artatthebeach.co.uk
Phone: 07818 838524
