Julie Gregory is one of Northumberland’s most exciting emerging painters. Inspired by her combined love of the Northumberland coast and art, she has started offering residential art holidays based on her family’s working farm, Springhill Farm Accommodation near Seahouses.
I’m proud to say I’m a true Northumbrian with my roots deeply embedded in the Northumberland coast spanning many generations.
Growing up as a child, in the then small fishing village of Beadnell, cemented my love and respect of the sea.
Living a stone’s throw from the coast and next door to the local fishermen, my playground was always destined to be the beach and the traditional black tar fishermen’s huts.
I recall hour after hour spent watching my uncle Charlie knitting salmon nets and making traditional lobster pots, a skill and craftsmanship that has sadly died out .... but the memories of that hut with its pot-bellied stove keeping us all warm on a cold winter's day, lives-on in my heart.
These memories and experiences as a child have formed the artist I am today.
I am so excited to be able to share my passion for the Northumberland coast and its unique ability to inspire and wake the senses by offering other artists of all levels - from experienced, novice and total newcomers - to come and experience this breathtaking coast for themselves through our new unique residential art holidays here at my family home and farm.
Nestled between Seahouses, with it miles of golden sands, and the village of Bamburgh, inspiration will flow just by looking out from the studio, witnessing the sunrise from behind the Farne Islands to it setting for the day behind magnificent Bamburgh Castle or the Cheviot hills depending on the time of year.. as an artist - this is what we dream of.
Art is about using all your senses to create work that means something personal to you. Being surrounded by this ever-changing dramatic coastline that is moulded by the sea day-by-day helps a painter respond to its energy in a truly intuitive way.
Taking time to just be part of the landscape, by closing my eyes for a while and listening to the waves crashing on the beach, smelling the tang of the salt spray and feeling the sea air brushing against my face makes me see better and hopefully paint from my heart. This is what I’m hoping my students will discover for themselves while sketching and painting wild Northumberland.
Non-painters are welcome to join those taking part on courses.
For more information visit www.springhill-farm.co.uk or www.juliegregoryart.co.uk or call 01665 721 820.
Instagram: @juliegregoryart
Twitter: @dizzieduck00
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