Felpham artist Helen Ward offers Chichester exhibition

As Helen says: “I am just one among millions enchanted by the sea. I grew up here as a child, but spent much of my life in London, working as a nurse and midwife. My life-long love of drawing and painting found an outlet in various classes and practising at home with different media. I have enjoyed investigating calligraphy, pencil, watercolour, oils and fabric collages. However, pastel remains my favourite medium.

“Returning to the Sussex coast in 2008, I have taken much of my inspiration from the ever-changing light in the sea and sky and the movement of water. It is with pastels, always editable and versatile, that I have tried to capture this in my work.

“This exhibition is in memory of my dad, booked on the anniversary of his death. He always wanted me to be able to paint full time as he watched me exhausted after night shifts. I now have the time and space to paint at my leisure.

“If one of my paintings could allow someone to hear the crash of a wave, smell the sea, feel the salt wind, experience its intoxicating mixture of exhilaration and peace, then I will have succeeded in some small measure.”

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