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Serena Sussex, is an artist based in Brighton. She moved to Brighton from London 2 years ago. Her interest in art began 20 years ago at school. In the six form, right from the start when her art teacher gave her mini rollers to paint with instead of the usual brushes. "Of course, I thought nothing of it at the time, but ultimately this was where my interest in painting really began.'

Since her early days studying for Art A Level at school, she have developed and adapted her styles over the years, experimenting with lots of different styles, techniques and media. These days she mostly use brushes, but every now and then she still use that same mini roller the art teacher gave to her all those years ago.

Recently she has been working with pastels.
" I never realised just how quickly each pastel stick disappears between the fingers. Pastels can give a very soft feel to a picture, and I can create different effects and moods with them.

Experimentation is fun, but most of the time I use Acrylics, Oil on Canvas or Board. While living in London I worked hard creating exhibitions in the city, but since coming to Brighton I have been able to relax and enjoy painting and exhibiting my work. I have found Brighton to be a very positive environment for an artist.

Ihave images that I paint regularly, such as my best seller ‘Poppies’. I have painted different versions of this picture for many clients over the years. I don’t know why, but this image has a universal appeal.
 

A lot of my pictures are inspired by my travels around the world. This May, as part of the Brighton Festival, I have an exhibition at the Coach House in Middle Street as well as the Open House at my flat, and both shows feature pictures from Asia to America. One of my favourite hobbies is horse riding, which is a wonderful way to see the countryside. I have been riding in England, Wales, Spain, America and Africa and so many of the images you will see are, in fact, from horseback!

I paint at home, working in the spare room or, boyfriend permitting, in the lounge. At busy times
I pretty much fill the whole flat with my work. The fantastic sea views that I now enjoy from my ninth floor flat have also started to influence my work.
I am currently painting pictures of Brighton for an exhibition, which I hope to show later this year.

As well as the pictures I have created for the Open House, I have also been painting on stones.

Painting on stones is a fun thing I do, it gives me a sense of release from my large pictures and an opportunity to try new things. I use acrylic paint and varnish on the stones. This year I have tried lots of different images, including fish, pandas and landscapes.

The stones are great to use as paperweights, doorstops or simply for display on the mantelpiece. I have also explored ceramic, which is a fun thing to do, as it is very hands on. Last Christmas I gave all my family and friends something I made in pottery, I was going to do this the year before but,

The slide show above, shows the The Coach House Restautant/Bar where Serena has some of her work on show. Thanks to Nikki the owner of the Coach House.

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Click here to find out more about The Coach House