Corinne Middlemiss

I cannot remember a time when I did not paint or draw.

My work has evolved over the years, but since moving to the coast, I have drawn inspiration from my daily clifftop and beach walks. I love to paint boats, beach huts, and harbours in acrylics in an expressionist semi-abstract way. Having recently studied at the Classical Art Academy I have taken up oil painting of the same subject matter in a classical style.

I am lucky to live within a few minutes of the New Forest, and its ancient trees, orange-tinged streams and unique light are also favourite subjects.

I also enjoy portraiture using layers of oil and cold wax to create interesting images.

My art is an expression of the joy I find in everyday scenes, in the colours and light of my local area.

I studied art to Degree level but an art education never ceases. I continue to learn through studying other artists' work, by pushing my own boundaries, attending workshops and mixing with other artists. I am currently furthering my progress at the Classical Art Academy.

A proud moment for me, back in the 1970s, was persuading the art teacher at my all-girls' grammar school to put life drawing on the curriculum. At the time, as a schoolgirl of 17, I attended evening classes in life drawing and was keen to make this discipline one of the components of the school's Art 'A' Level examination. Having a nude model to pose in an all-girls' school was considered quite shocking at the time!

I have held two successful exhibitions in Wimborne, Dorset, with a fellow artist, and have exhibited and sold locally with the Christchurch Arts Guild and through private viewings. I have works in collections in New York, Italy, France and Great Britain