Exploring the lost and found, the past and how it has shaped us, connection and heritage – these are themes in my work. I seek to create a certain atmosphere and emotion. All at once imagined and familiar, a connection with the viewer and a continued exploration to find my own place in the world.
Originally from the East of Scotland, I now live in the beautiful, rugged and inspirational area of Northumberland.
These works are inspired by my many visits to my favourite place in Northumberland. The tiny fishing village of Craster is where you can often find me sketching and taking photographs. It is a place set back in time with the distinctive rows of cottages, the old harbour walls and the view of Dunstanburgh Castle that changes dramatically with the weather – either stark against the blue sky or lost amongst the sea mist.
I love the details that we see in a landscape. Particularly where houses and villages and harbours are rooted in and belong to the surrounding hills and coastline. Built in such a way that they appear to have always been there. Structures and shapes that mark the edges between land and sea. There is a sense of history, perhaps a melancholic way of reminding us of what has long since passed, what we have lost in many ways.
Gillian Lee Smith