This collective exhibition showcases the visual artwork by some of the artists whose work is available to buy in our shop, offering an opportunity to discover more about their personal creative practice.
Participating artists:
John Butterworth
Recent paintings created during the Summer heat wave of 2026 have taken on ‘some of the heat ‘of the Sun and are reflected in Johns exaggerated colours which have given his local scenes an ‘expressionistic style makeover’.
John says 'Colour hues and combinations have always been a big part of my vision for painting, and I hope my ‘impression’ of the colour in my subjects will excite your eyes as much as they have mine'!
John produces cards and prints for retail, inspried by some of the most unique and Iconic landmarks of Whitstable and surrounding areas.
Instagram: @buttersoldbean
Cath Deeson
Inspired by most things local and all things lovely! Cath has been making prints from her bedroom for nearly 30 years. Surrounding herself with things she loves, things she has collected, found or been given. Loving living in this glorious country with the incredible changing coastline. Being inspired by what surrounds us every day.
Insta @cathdeesopnlinocutw
Deborah Gilbert
Deborah's work explores the emotional and psychological force of colour, drawing on the shifting colours of the sea and sky around Thanet, where shes live and works.
Deborah is interested in what happens when colour moves beyond describing a place and becomes a feeling in its own right. The changing light of the coast constantly alters the colours around me: blues can become violet, grey can turn silver, and a familiar sky can suddenly erupt into pink, orange or yellow. These changes can transform not only the landscape but also the way we experience it.
Deborah's work predominantly with acrylic paint, using saturated colour, broad brush marks and visible gestures. Deborah deliberately allows the physical act of painting to remain evident. Rather than attempting to reproduce a particular landscape, she builds colour intuitively, allowing unexpected combinations and contrasts to emerge.
Memory is an important part of this process. Colour can act as a trigger, connecting the present with something remembered. A particular blue, pink or yellow can evoke a place, a person or a feeling without the memory being fully defined. Deborah is interested in this space between recognition and imagination.
Deborah wants the work to feel direct, energetic and open, allowing colour to carry the emotional weight of the painting.
Insta @diggallerymargate
Debra Ivens
Debra Ivens is a British artist, whose work is inspired by the seascapes and landscapes of England. She uses varying techniques to build collections of work, in turn abstract and realist, yet always engaging and whimsical.
Debra’s work encourages you to look at your surroundings with a new gaze, to evoke memories and emotions from times unique to your own life, while building a deeper respect for the brusque and beautiful power of nature, and the wonder of wild Britain.
www.debraivensart.co.uk
Facebook: Debra Ivens Art
Instagram: @debraivensart
Nick Kelly
Nick works mostly in acrylic and watercolour. Nick's colour palette is usually pale and soft rather than bright and bold. Nick paints on fairly large block canvas in acrylic. These are often pieces about the coast, especially the Kent shoreline. Nick's watercolour drawings in pen and ink are mostly urban, studies done both here and abroad.
Nick is interested in is space and freedom finding the coast and sea particularly inspiring. This has come initially from working in the Middle East where Nick began to paint the vast empty spaces of the of desert and, at that time, undeveloped coast. Walks by the sea are a constant source of artistic stimulation - the exhilarating feeling as well as the peace and calm. These wide open spaces are reflected in Nick's work who is also interested in the relationship between us and the coast, very often adding figures either at play in the summer or being more reflective on cloudy days. This connection has taken on a stronger meaning in Nick's later work as we struggle with the effects of coastal development and climate change.
The process in making these pieces often begins with taking a sketchbook on a walk. Nick often make notes too, the thoughts slowly making an image come to life. There are several layers of paint on a large canvas, playing with shapes and tones. Very often the work is purely figurative to begin with and then becomes more of an impression, a suggestion - the satisfaction at the end of feeling a certain emotion rather than just seeing a representation.
Instagram: @nickkellyart
Jo Oakley
Since training in Fine Art at North East London Polytechnic Jo has continued to pursue her own fine art practice whilst working professionally within the arts and raising a family. Jo is a South East Londoner but has had a deep connection with the East Kent Coast all my life. Childhood holidays set in motion her love of the Thames estuary and this is now where she lives working solely on her art practice.
Artist statement:
This body of work has grown out of looking more closely at the landscape around me and at the small lives held within it.
The paintings bring together birds, moths, butterflies, wildflowers and the coastal landscape - things I encounter on walks, gather, notice, or return to over time. Some are particular to this place, such as the Fisher’s estuarine moth and its relationship with hog’s fennel; others, like cabbage whites and sand martins, are familiar presences whose beauty can easily be overlooked.
There is a sense of late summer moving into autumn throughout the work. Late Summerbegan with flowers gathered and brought home to paint in a window, while September Whites catches those pale butterflies still moving through the landscape as the season begins to turn.
This is also the first body of paintings I have made on paper. I have been using non-toxic acrylic paints, often working on recycled paper and placing the finished pieces in reclaimed frames. I like the directness and simplicity of these materials, and the fact that things which have already had a life can become part of something new.
These paintings are a way of staying with those encounters for longer - looking closely at what belongs here, what passes through, and what might otherwise go unnoticed.
Instagram: @sherose165
Liz Shedden
Graduating from a degree in fashion and textiles in 1981, Liz worked in London for a short spell, then relocated to the Middle East, where the first influences on her painting style began.
After living in London and raising young children in the early 1990s, she returned to her hometown of Whitstable, where she began painting again. Interspersing inspiration from her travels and influenced by the locality, her windy seascapes, capturing the sails, masts, deserts and sea, soon developed over the years from a pictorial style to a more abstract vision.
She was a founding member of Whitstable Contemporary Arts, along with John Butterworth, Bruce Williams, Christine Merton and others who, through campaigning for a centre for the arts in Whitstable, resulted in the Horsebridge Centre we have today.
Liz was also amongst the founding members of The Fish Slab Gallery, along with Jon Bird, and had a studio at the gallery for some years before opening her own gallery and shop, ‘Betty Loves Bryan’, in 2014.
She has taken part in numerous group and solo exhibitions in Whitstable, Canterbury and London, and her work has been bought by many collectors in the UK and overseas. She has collaborated with stylists and interior designers to produce commissioned work and printed textiles and accessories.
In 2020, she had a studio built in her garden, where she continues to paint, inspired by her travels with her family, her hometown and her garden.
Her work is represented by the Lilford Gallery, Canterbury, and is available at Urbanista, Whitstabubble Home and Scandinavian Touch, Whitstable.
www.lizsheddenstudio.com
Instagram: @liz_shedden_studio
Exhibitor Information
