Water colours: artist inspired by light of the isles

BRITISH artist Emily Powell, known for her colourful canvases, has spoken of the importance of 'plein air' painting as she undertakes a residency on the Isles of Scilly.

- CLAIRE HAYHURST

Powell, 35, was so inspired by the colours and light on the archipelago off the Cornish coast during a visit in May that she packed much of her Dartmoor studio into a shipping container to relocate for the summer.

That container, holding more than 100 litres of paint, canvases, her trusty wooden easel, ladder and chairs, as well as a large supply of PG Tips teabags and kettle, went by boat from Penzance to St Mary's island.

The Liverpool-born artist then followed - painting so prolifically that she ran out of canvases and had to use local sailcloth and pieces of wood from a nearby town hall renovation instead.

Her dedication to working en plein air - a term referring to the practice of painting entire pieces outdoors - follows that of landscape artist John Constable, who is said to have pioneered the approach in Britain in around 1813. Other notable artists who painted outdoors include Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro and Pierre-Auguste Renoir.

Powell also highlighted the work of the Newlyn school - led by artists Stanhope Forbes and Frank Bramley - who settled in the Cornish fishing towns of Newlyn and St Ives in the 1880s.

"There is a long standing tradition of artists painting in St Ives and Penzance because of the light," she said.