See Cornwall Through an Artist's Eyes...Local Artist's Favourite Spots!

The azure bays and equally vibrant, sunny skies of Cornwall blended with that light and a cushioning of picturesque villages and breath-taking landscape is what makes our home county a haven for the creative. Always has been, always will be.

You don’t have to be an artist to appreciate just how inspiring Cornwall is – anyone who gets a chance to visit or better yet, live here, knows that the scenic offerings and fresh sea air is enough to leave anyone feeling rejuvenated and full of vitality, but to see Cornwall through the eyes of an artist is a particularly special view.

We loved the feature written by Jonathan Laurie for The Guardian last year which gave us all a chance to do just this, by reading all about some of Cornwall’s best and brightest local artist’s and their favourite places to visit along the Cornish Coast. For today’s blog, we’ve chosen our favourite spots out of that captivating list so when you come by to visit us in St Mawes Gallery, you can take in some of these lovely sights too!

Tinners’ Way

Kurt Jackson is one of the UK’s leading landscape painters and his work truly captures the majesty of some of Cornwall’s most dramatic settings thanks to his own experience traversing isolated, wild walks near his home in St Just on a daily basis.

Tinners’ Way is a prehistoric track that links St Ives to St Just and Cape Cornwall, dotted all the way with remnants of mines, stone circles and ancient villiages, making this the ideal track for anyone wanting to soak up a bit of Cornwall’s history.

Carrick Roads

Just as Cornwall is a haven for artists Carrick Roads is just that for wildlife, attracting one of the largest flocks of wintering Grebes in the UK and many more sea-birds besides and this is artist Pete Hill’s favourite place to be. These meandering creeks around Falmouth run through wooded valleys and charming villages with many a waterside pub to stop by on your travels for a well-deserved drink in the sunshine.

You can navigate these water roads from Falmouth right the way to Truro, making this a unique way to see a whole new side of Cornwall.

Porthminster Beach

We’re not short of incredible beaches here in Cornwall, as you’ll have discovered from our recent blog ‘The Best Roseland Peninsula Beaches You NEED to Visit’, but Emma Jeffryes paintings of Cornish landscapes are largely inspired by the stunning Porthminster Beach. It’s not only the beach itself that does it for her though, it’s the unassuming Porthminster Beach Café sitting right at the far end that is a major draw.

If you’ve ever wanted to feel as though you’re basking in the beauty of the Mediterranean without having to leave Cornish shores, this is the place to go; nestled in a vibrant cluster of hydrangea bushes with spectacular views of sparkling blue ocean and sprawling white sands, this is the perfect place to sit and enjoy the bustle of St Ives from a distance.

Hayle Estuary

Bob Devereux is an abstract painter and performance poet who runs the annual St Ives Literary Festival and in his interview with Laurie, he revealed that much of his inspiration emerges from the RSPB Hayle Estuary.

Ever-changing with the tides and home to an array of bird species who also come and go, it is the constant change and the fast-flowing pace of the river that really gets the creative juices flowing.