Tides, Textures, and Creativity: Inside My Marina Art Studio

Tucked away among the masts and the salty breeze of Leigh Marina, my art studio sits inside a repurposed shipping container. It's a little unconventional, but it's beginning to feel completely right — surrounded by the elements, the ever-changing light, and the gentle rhythms of the tide.

The marina is a working space and home to a small community of mooring boats, office spaces, artisans, and commercial ventures (there's even a gym!).

When I first moved in last October, I really struggled with the temperature and the dark mornings and evenings. I questioned whether I'd made the right decision — leaving behind the comfort of my small garden studio at home for something so different and exposed.

But I took the plunge because I had a bigger dream: to create a large, ambitious collection of work — something I felt I just couldn’t achieve at home. The shipping container offers so much more room for larger-scale pieces, the freedom to be messy, and the chance to disrupt the comfort of my usual art practice, pushing me somewhere new.

As I write this at the end of April, I feel like I’m finally reaching a breakthrough — both with the space itself and with what I can create here.

The environment here has slowly been working its way into my practice — the shifting mists, the quiet moods of the marina, and the deep, mirrored reflections in the water.

Over the past few months, a new body of work has begun to take shape: I’m calling it the Container Series. These are dreamy abstracts that aim to capture the atmosphere and spirit of this place, ot through literal representation, but through feeling, texture, and tone.

One of the most exciting changes for me has been stepping away from acrylics and experimenting with oil pigment sticks. This new approach has brought a more ethereal, dreamlike quality to the work; softer edges, richer depths, and a slower, more intuitive way of painting that feels deeply connected to the marina's rhythms.

It’s still early days, but I’m finding real joy in the process. I can’t wait to share more glimpses of the Container Series as it unfolds.

One of Container Series taking shape - this painting was inspired by the reflections of the boats at high tide.

P.S. If you'd like to see more of the Container Series as it evolves, you can follow my studio updates on Instagram or join my mailing list here for early previews and stories from the marina.