Today, as part of my 100 Days of Encouragement Project, I’m celebrating Samantha Rudd — a UK painter who evokes beautiful spaces in her artwork.
When I was in my early 20s, fresh out of college, I did an 18-day driving tour around England with friends. You learn a lot about yourself on a trip like that. Relatively uninitiated in international travel, I was caught between wanting to experience all the newness of each place and desiring familiarity and comfort.
Our day in Chester was one of my favorites. The architectural wonders of Chester Cathedral were awe-inspiring. And for lunch, we popped into a cheesemonger (that was a new vocabulary word), got crusty bread, a jar of mustard, and chunks of Cheshire cheese. (It was my first taste of cheese that didn’t come pre-sliced and wrapped in plastic — I know, pathetic, right??)
Sitting outside, under a tree that cast dappled sunlight over us, it was the best picnic I’d ever had, the perfect blend of newness and comfort. I remember thinking that I never wanted to forget this feeling. And I haven’t.
There’s something about the work of painter Samantha Rudd that evokes that dance between freshness and nostalgia for me. Her soft palette of colors, combined with playful mark-making and zesty compositions are evocative. Her paintings bear witness to the intersection of the natural environment and the human experience.
She travels between her Cheshire farmhouse, surrounded by fields and woodlands and an evolving garden, and her house by the sea, where an estuary runs through the bottom of the garden. These geographies are the source of inspiration for much of her work.
Whether she’s responding to the ever-changing woods around her or sandy beaches and craggy bays, she uses varying degrees of representation and abstraction to create a mood and suggest the feeling of place.
Drawing is a passion, and you will often find her making sketches that may be developed later in her studio into paintings. She often draws into her paintings, adding delicious, quirky linework that adds charm and emphasis to her scenes.
How You Be an Encouragement
Please check out Samantha’s offerings on Instagram, follow her, and send her some encouragement today by commenting on one of her posts or sending her a direct message.
Instagram: @samantharuddartist
Galleries: Ainscough Contemporary Art
