Angela Herbert-Hodges grew up in Cumbria and has widely travelled having lived and worked in London, Spain, Paris, Africa and the USA. During her time in the USA Angela began to focus consistently on painting and her work was exhibited in New York and Washington DC, as well as in galleries in Maryland, Delaware and Virginia. She also won awards in national, juried painting competitions.
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In 2021 Angela finally settled in Perranporth on the North Coast of Cornwall in the UK. Her work is influenced by the experience of walking and observing the dramatic cliffs, wild ocean and ever-changing light and colours of the Cornish Coast. She is passionate about nature and wildlife conservation and her art reflects an abstracted vision of her connection to her local environment as well as the wider world of her earlier travels.
Angela says: 'I am always absorbing the feeling of my environment, like the clarity of the air or the heaviness of the mist and clouds hanging full of moisture around me. I am inspired by the shapes that make up the coastline and the constant movement of the sea, as it crashes into the rocks or calmly lets birds float on the surface and laps gently onto the sand.
When I am painting I am representing those feelings and want to convey the colours and shapes and lines in unusual ways. Sometimes as paintings develop they go in an unplanned direction and I like to follow that lead. As I paint my inner delight and excitement continues to grow and eventually this bubbles out through my paintbrushes.'
Angela is a guest artist at Island Gallery in St Ives, Cornwall during 2023.
· Describe what kind of art you focus on
Angela: I paint an expressive rather abstract interpretation of my environment here in Cornwall.
· Describe your Cornish Landscape.. series
Angela: This series is dynamic and full of my excitement about living near the sea and the ruggedness of the Coastline and the clear air blowing in off the Atlantic Ocean.
· What Inspires You? / What are you inspired by? /Where do you find inspiration?
Angela: Nature is so awesome!!
I love to be out in the elements whatever the weather. It is somehow very freeing spiritually and artistically.
I find inspiration by the simple acts of looking and walking and listening to the wind and the birds and appreciating the flowers and nature’s tenacity in such ever-changing weather conditions.
· How Do You Make your Artworks?
Angela: I work on paper, board and canvas using a mixture of collage, watercolour, gouache and acrylic paint.
· What Does Your Art Mean to You?
Angela: It is my raison d’etre. I find it joyous and totally necessary for my happiness and inner peace.
· Where are you from and how does that affect your work?
Angela: I am from the North West of England and grew up in a rural area. As a family we vacationed in Scotland. This imprinted on me a sense of connection with the land and a love of the simplicity of being out in the fresh air.
· What is your favourite medium?
Angela: I feel that my strongest work is using mixed mediums, developing a history of work underneath the final finished piece.
· When is your favourite time of day to create?
Angela: The earlier part of the day which is also my favourite time to go walking.
· Describe how art is important to society
Angela: Art has always connected the viewers to something other than themselves. Possibly to a life elsewhere or to a landscape that has the capacity to bring some peace to the viewer.
· What motivates you to create?
Angela: I think about my work most of the time and plan paintings in my head but they sometimes take ages to manifest themselves!!
· How do you develop your art skills?
Angela: My intention is always to add more emotion to my paintings, which I know is achieved by consistent practise. I find that a lot of my paintings take on their own energy whilst I am creating them and that is particularly exciting for me as an artist.
· What is the purpose of your artworks?
Angela: It is so important in our high tech world to view art and creativity and feel a connectedness to the artist’s expression of the world around them.
My goal is for my work to be intriguing, thought provoking and authentic. I love it if the viewer feels joy and life after looking at my paintings.
· How do you navigate the professional art industry?
Angela: I do my best!
· How has your style changed over time?
Angela: When I first began to paint, I was definitely interested in representation. That is not my interest now. Thirty-five years on, I am usually thinking of using the shapes I see in a much more abstract interpretation and my intention is for my work to be truly authentic and that the viewer will see this.
Cover image: Angela Herbert-Hodges. Rippling with Intention, 2022. Courtesy of Island Gallery St. Ives
Written by Island Gallery St. Ives
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