Mari Lynch

Growing up in the seventies, I have many happy childhood memories of weekends and holidays spent with family and friends exploring the South Coast and especially the Solent. My dad was a BSAC qualified diver so we spent our summers camping, being on the water and having fun water skiing off the back of our little speedboat.
Both my parents were very creative and so not surprisingly I grew up with a strong interest in art. This eventually extended to painting my first seascapes in the shed at the bottom of our garden.
Not long after, my childhood memories drew me back to the Solent, and it was only natural that my developing art career would focus on the sea and all the amazing things associated with it. I learnt to sail and bought and renovated my own small yacht, Sarala, where I happily lived on board for several years.
I quickly made new friends and found myself part of the local maritime social scene. I was involved with sailing schools, taught first aid at sea and volunteered with the local inshore rescue lifeboat.
Over the last year, I have found myself able to focus entirely on my artwork, building on my painting portfolio.

In my late twenties I took a foundation art course at Winchester School of Art and then stayed on to study a degree in textile design. My foundation tutor said at the time that I should be a fine artist, but alas, the working class gal in me thought I should get a job in textile design. I never pursued that textiles career, instead becoming a muralist; and now, after many years attending the "art school of life" and dipping into mindful snippets from my time at art school I have developed a painting style that I like.