Award-winning artist Wendy Corbett has always had a great passion for the sea. As Wendy says: “The sea stirs something deep within me, which I hope shows in my work. I never grow tired of watching it; I love the way it changes with the light, sliding through different moods and atmospheres. I particularly like stormy skies and seas. To stand in a storm force wind that you can lean in to and watch the waves crashing onto the shore and to taste the salt on your lips is amazing
- there is nothing like quite it.”
It was this love of the sea that took her away from her home in Birmingham and down to Devon. Inspired by the coastline that surrounded her, she remained there for 13 years painting local scenes with the intimate knowledge of an insider. This turned out to be a positive move not only in terms of inspiration and quality of life, but also a massive turning point in her artistic fortunes, as it was here that she established herself with local galleries and began to make a name for herself.
She began to use pastels and was amazed that she had neglected this wonderful medium for so many years. They have now become an integral part of her distinctive style. She initiates each composition by putting on the colours very roughly, which establishes the mood of the picture. She works on card, which has a sand-like texture; this suits her style as it allows her to put the pastels on quite thickly and merge them together. This creates a sense of movement which is essential for her subjects, be they clouds or sea. She layers and blends different colours to achieve a soft impression of lowering sky or rolling waves.
Wendy has recently expanded the subjects she paints, thinking back to childhood memories of the snow and, still based around the sea, family holidays.
She is now based in Lancashire, still close to the coast. She visits a different part of the British Isles each year, seeking inspiration from a seemingly inexhaustible supply of new coastlines. Her work is widely shown in London and across the UK.