Eileen Sey DA, PD, Dip Ed

Born in the grey granite fishing port of Peterhead on the rugged North East of Scotland within sight and sound of the sea with its constant fogs, gales and pounding waves it is not surprising that Eileen has been fascinated and inspired by the coastlines of Britain and Europe in all their grandeur and diversity.

She remembers listening to her Grandfather, as was his father also, a sea captain apprenticed under sail as a 12 year old on a whaler in the Arctic, tell tales of storms, shipwrecks and dramatic rescues and more importantly, the mysticism of the deep with its unending rhythms of the moon and the tides.

As a young adult and having completed a 4 year diploma course at Grays School of Art in Aberdeen, she subsequently won a scholarship to travel in Europe. After many years teaching and raising 3 sons, she eventually returned to full time painting in order to develop her skills in a wide range of different media and subjects. Most recent influences have been the coasts of Cornwall, Hampshire and Dorset at home and abroad, by Venice and its carnival, Spain and the Greek Islands. This has resulted in works ranging from the almost representational, to surreal visions of costumed characters and increasingly, large abstract works mainly in acrylics and mixed media.

In recent years she has exhibited at the Royal West of England Academy, St Barbe Museum Gallery in Lymington, Highcliffe Castle, Upton Country Park in Dorset, Bell Fine Art Winchester, The Affordable Art Fair in London and for many years permanently exhibited at Hampshire Contemporary Artists in Lymington. Her work is in private collections in the UK, Holland, New Zealand and California. She paints in a studio in the coastal village of Milford-on-Sea, Lymington with its inspirational views of the Solent and the Isle of Wight.

She is ably assisted by her mischievous Burmese cat Rufus, who also enjoys expressing his own very individual personality in paint over as wide an area as possible with spectacular results.