For nearly 20 years, Hudson has drawn much of her inspiration from the landscape around her home on the Sussex coast. Her expressive and beautiful seascapes transport us to a world in which land, sea and sky merge into a powerful vision of movement and light and while the location may be ambiguous, the sense of peace and wonder is completely clear.

Hudson was initially inspired to paint by a period of living in Cornwall where the rugged coastal landscape and the magical sense of history cast its spell. North Cornwall continues to hold a place in her heart and is often portrayed in her artworks, but her soul is drawn to all the wild haunting parts of our coastline and she is looking forward to venturing North later in the year. Her aim is to capture the rhythm and movement of the sea or the energy of a moment or a view – ‘the sound of waves on rocks’ - whilst leaving some elements open to the interpretation of the viewer. She believes passionately that painting is a reflection of personal experiences and the work which emerges from this approach is captivating and evocative.

Working in her seafront studio, or out on location, Hudson applies paint to canvas with palette knives and both ends of her brushes and achieves a style which is immediately recognisable. Treading an intriguing line between realism and abstraction, she utilises some unusual tools and techniques such as scraping with newspaper or rags, as she builds her composition with multi-layered impasto mark making. There is a depth of colour and an exploratory tone which sometimes refers to the sea, the landscape, or the flora she discovers when she is out walking, but on occasion these elements are obscured when she eschews reality and paints more from her own peaceful centre.

Biography and work by Hudson Parkin