The Path I walk, The Presence I find
What inspires your art practice?
The shifting polarities of nature – the way light and shadow empower a scene with a pulse of life, the bristling energy inherent in stillness, the combination of fragility and strength – all of which mirror the human experience – and how all these parts come together within a moment. I am attracted to things in their unobserved, uncontrived state.
Images: Left, Porthkidney, watercolour; Top Right, Hayle Estuary, watercolour, watercolour; Bottom Right, Godrevy Lighthouse from Hayle, watercolour
What is your artistic process?
Some of my most authentic works emerge from immersion in the particular medium I am using, whether buttery, thick oil paints, atmospheric and lucid watercolours or direct, stark graphite & charcoal. Spending time with such process-driven explorations through intuitive mark-making and colour meditations underpins all my painting and drawing, whether observational or more imaginative.
I move fluidly between observation & memory, sketchbook & studio work, following thoughts as they meander. I love allowing each surface to hold a fragment of an energy, moment or mood. My preferred materials – oil, pastel, watercolour, graphite, and charcoal – become vessels for capturing these ephemeral experiences.
Alongside painting, my writing and published articles explore similar territories to my visual work – observation, reflection, and the poetic qualities of everyday life. I am continually drafting perspectives and reflections on my experience as an artist and my contemplative time in nature, expanding the dialogue between image and text, and bridging the gap between my ‘practice’ and my life.
What influence do you take from the coast and nature?
Its ever-changing raw beauty continues to shape both my approach to mark making and my inner sense of balance. Impactful forms, changing light, vast natural rhythms, and elemental splendour create a resonance that informs how I ‘see’, and what I bring into my work, whether landscape, portrait or still life.
How important is the Coast Path to you?
It’s a place of renewal, both a sanctuary and studio – the energy of the Coast Path’s inherent wild unpredictability sharpens my attention and clears my mind. I enjoy spending unstructured time walking the Path, absorbing sights, smells and senses, and noticing the rich materiality and moods of the land, sea, and sky.
How much of the Coast Path have you walked?
I have walked many stretches over time. I frequently return to familiar paths that seem to anchor me, where light, forms, memory, and presence find new resonance, each time.
About Ingrid
I am a figurative artist working primarily in painting and drawing, drawn to the spaces where beauty and darkness, fragility and strength meet. My practice explores the energy created by dualities within nature – growth and decay, stillness and energy – and how these mirror our own human experience.
I work intuitively, seeking moments of resonance in light, texture and form, allowing them to guide the image as it emerges. Through this process I hope to create work that reflects both the visible and the felt, encouraging a sense of recognition and connection, and inviting viewers to pause and notice the vitality present in all states of being – especially the uncontrived and unobserved.
Website ingridbrown.co.uk
Instagram @ingridbrown_art
The South West Coast Path 