Inspired by the Coast – Laura Wall – The South West Coast Path

What inspires your illustrations, paintings, and writing?

Painting is my way of communicating – with myself and with the world. It always has been – my mum says I was born with a pencil in my hand(!) Others express with words whereas I have always felt the need to do this through my paintings, possibly, because as a child I struggled with reading and so I told stories with art. My paintings are about my relationship with the landscapes that surround me. I’ve always found a sense of peace and balance whilst painting, and I want to convey this calmness and joy through my work. My paintings are intended to evoke joy and nostalgia for memories of happy seaside days. I also love to observe people, and I spend a lot of time sketching people whilst I am sat on the beach or out and about. I then use this cast of characters to put in to my paintings! I think it makes the paintings more connectable, humorous and human.

Goose and Sophie, two characters from my children’s picture book series that I have created, also feature in all my paintings. People who know about this love to try and find them – they’re always in there somewhere…‘Goose’ was first written and illustrated by me as part of my final project for my Fine Art and Illustration degree, and it was inspired by my love of animals and the relationship I had with my sister as a child. The stories have minimal words and are picture led, it is a very simple series based on the unusual friendship between a little girl and a Goose (I thought if I didn’t have a sister, who I love to play with as a child, and I came up with Goose) it was an exciting moment after my art degree that the book became published… 15 years on there are now 16 books in this series and it is published all around the world. It’s a real pinch me moment when I travel somewhere and see it translated in another language. Each year I have the joy of visiting schools in the UK and internationally, my love is to travel and it is incredibly fulfilling to lead creative writing and art workshops with children. Together we read my stories, followed by book signings with the aim to inspire children.

Why is the South West Coast Path important to you?

The South West Coast Path is more than just a trail to me – it’s a source of energy, calm and inspiration. I’ve lost count of how many times the coast path has featured in one of my paintings or sketches. As someone who loves hiking and being outdoors, this path winds through some of the most beautiful and dramatic landscapes I’ve ever experienced. It offers everything from rugged cliffs and quiet coves to sweeping beaches and wild moorland. I always feel a deep connection with nature whilst hiking this special path, and it gives me a real sense of freedom and escape from the busy world around us. Whether it’s the wind off the sea, the crash of the waves, or the ever-changing skies and clouds above, being out on the coast path reminds me to slow down, breathe deeply, and just to be…I love to try new sections of the path, or return to old favourites time and again. Some of my happiest moments have been spent on the coast path.

How does the coast inspire your artwork?

The coast, especially the sea speaks directly to me. I’m always struck by the drama of the coastline and the serene beauty (or wildness at times!) of the sea. It stirs something in me that demands to be translated onto paper. And although most of my paintings depict calm sunny days around South Devon, when I am walking I try and create in-the-moment watercolours for myself or to work up later in the studio. I take sketches and photographs of the coastal area I’m painting next, and I bring these home and develop these into the composition for my paintings. The spontaneity and life from that initial plein air work always guides the final painting.

A good example of this is a painting called ‘Feeling Free’ which is of Bedruthan Steps in Cornwall and was painted to capture the vastness and wildness of this beautiful stretch of coast. It is a series I am looking to develop over the coming months to capture the more wild parts of the coast path. In my gallery most of my paintings depict calmer days of Teignmouth and the surrounding area. I love the way the light sparkles on the sea on sunny days, and I use iridescent medium on top of watercolour paint in my paintings to recreate this.

How does travel influence your artwork?

My husband and I have a real passion for travel, and in addition to holidays, we try and work abroad in the winter every year, anywhere from Asia to the South of France. Travelling really fuels my creativity and each time I travel, I immerse myself in painting and sketching wherever I can which has resulted in a colourful collection of painted memories. In recent years, travels to Laos, India, Vietnam, Thailand and France have been incredibly inspiring. I immersed myself in painting and sketching wherever I could. I always carry a set of watercolour paints and a sketchbook with me, which allow me to capture impromptu scenes of daily life, live, en plein air.

I can start out quite nervous to paint in public, but I soon get over this! Finding the ‘perfect spot’ is rare and actually, just working with what’s in front of me is much better. It’s all real life! For me, it’s all about capturing a feeling and evoking the essence of a place to capture a moment in time. In those places where it wasn’t feasible to paint, I would snap as many photographs as possible, and take videos to use as aide memories when I found a quieter moment, preferably as soon as possible so I still had the sounds and atmosphere of the place surrounding me. Often this was on a rooftop, somewhere that still overlooked life and most importantly gave me the background audio of the city – I might hear a call to prayer, beeping horns, foreign chatter, children playing… it all helped inspire me to create these pieces.

Tell us about The Laura Wall Gallery

I have been lucky enough to have a studio and gallery based in the seaside town of Teignmouth, South Devon for approximately ten years now. I work with my husband, Dave and together we run our art gallery where I can often be found painting or writing. We live about fifteen minutes from the gallery, and our walk to work is through a stunning park next to the sea, which is such a special way to start the day. We started in a smaller gallery but moved to a larger one around six years ago. Teignmouth is a beautiful and inspiring place with a vibrant community and incredible landscape, and it has been the focus of many of my pen and watercolour paintings. I have also painted many other scenic places and created products inspired by our iconic British seaside. The gallery is filled with limited edition prints of my paintings (and the occasional original painting – but these usually sell quickly!), and a whole host of products featuring my designs – from fine bone china mugs and jugs, to flasks and quick dry towels, we have it all! I am immensely proud of what we’ve created, and we are always striving to create new products to keep things exciting and different. We only sell things that we love and would use ourselves.

Guest blog written by Laura Wall

About Laura Wall

Laura is an award-winning artist, illustrator, and author with a studio and gallery based in the heart of Teigmouth’s Arts Quarter. Laura works together with her husband, Dave to run their art gallery, where Laura can often be found painting or writing. As well as her pen and watercolour series, Laura is also known for her published children’s book series: Goose. Laura leads creative writing and art workshops with children in the UK and internationally, where she reads her stories and signs books with the aim to inspire children. The Laura Wall Gallery has recently joined up as a Coast Path Passport stamping point, so walkers can stop by along with their four-legged friends to get their passport stamped, purchase a recently launched chocolate bar from limited stock, complete with coast path inspired keepsake packaging, refill water bottles, and shop a range of beautiful coast path illustrations.