To celebrate the Year of the Coast throughout 2023, we are featuring blogs from all around Lincolnshire’s glorious coastline. In today’s guest blog, we take a look at the Lincolnshire Coast from an artist’s perspective as we hear from Geraldine Segre and why she loves to paint the county’s coastline.
Why I love painting the Lincolnshire coast
When I first heard that 2023 is the Year of the Coast, I felt excited about the events that’ll take place up and down the country, encouraging people to visit, love and protect our coastline.
I’m an artist, and the coast is such an important part of my life and my work. I celebrate the coast all year round in my own way, through my artwork.
I live in Anderby, near Chapel St Leonards, and I swapped London for Lincolnshire during lockdown. The move up here led to a big change in my art. I’d never painted a landscape before I moved here, focusing instead on still life.
But the vast Lincolnshire coastline is so beautiful. How could I not paint it? It can sometimes be bleak and melancholy, but it’s also full of joy, nostalgia and happy memories for so many people, often going back generations. I try to capture all those emotions in my paintings.
Something for everyone
The Lincolnshire coast has something for everyone, which is just one of the reasons why I love living here. I love to paint seaside resorts like Mablethorpe, Skegness and Cleethorpes. And I love to paint places where nature and man-made structures meet – piers, sea defences, beach huts.
I also love to paint vast scenes that remind us how tiny we humans are compared to the natural world – those wild stretches of beach we get in places like Anderby Creek and Huttoft. I get endless inspiration from the huge skies, the dunes, and the sand that goes on for as far as the eye can see.
Coastal beauty all year round
Living here all year round allows me to appreciate the beauty of the Lincolnshire coast in all weather, in all seasons, and at different times of the day. It allows me to get under the skin of the place, and I try to bring that out in my artwork.
I’m inspired by the beautiful colours that change as the year goes on – in the daybreaks and sunsets, in the crops in the fields, the depth of the shadows in different seasons, and the mood of the sea and the waves.
I paint mostly in chalk pastel because their bold, vibrant colours are well suited to the drama of the Lincolnshire coast and countryside. But I sometimes also paint in watercolours and gouache.
Enjoying the coast in all weathers
We live about a mile from the coast, and I walk down to the beach every day, in all weathers. I love being out under clear blue skies, but also in the wind and the rain. I love painting bright, summery scenes, as well as dramatic, stormy skies. I’ll take photos on my walk, and when the weather is nicer, I’ll take some sketching materials too. When I’m back in my studio, I’ll start to work on a piece based on my sketches and photos.
Taking the coast home with you
One of the best things about being an artist here is helping people keep their memories of the Lincolnshire coast alive. My customers often tell me about their happy childhood holidays spent here. They come from all over the country and can’t be here every weekend. But they can still take a little piece of the Lincolnshire coast with them through my work, whether that’s an original painting, a print, card, keyring, mug or set of coasters.
How will you celebrate the coast this year?
I’ll be continuing to celebrate the coast through my art. But I’ll explore it in new ways too, trying out different art mediums and different scenes. I’ll take long walks along my favourite beaches, but will also seek out some corners I haven’t explored as much. In the warmer months, I’ll swim in the sea and will sketch the shoreline while I dry off under the sun. And when winter returns, I’ll wrap up warm and will watch the weather roll in across the sea. However you choose to celebrate the coast this year, I hope it brings you joy.
For more information about Geraldine Segre’s artwork you can visit her website here: artbygeraldinesegre.com
