Bethany Holmes

Based in rural Essex, British artist Bethany Holmes develops her energetic abstract paintings from a studio embedded within the landscape. While her immediate surroundings inform the work, her paintings are not depictions of place. Instead, they register sensation — the shift of light across a field, the subtle drop in temperature, the interaction and tension between colours.

Holmes approaches the landscape as an observation of sensations rather than representation. Walks through the countryside become opportunities to gather tonal impressions and atmospheres, which are later distilled into abstraction. Each painting begins with a deliberate and meditative process of colour mixing. This preparatory stage functions as a form of calibration: hues are tested, adjusted and refined until a balanced palette emerges. For Holmes, this act of mixing is considered and reflective; the subsequent act of painting is instinctive.

In contrast to a slow and considered compilation of unique colour palettes, Holmes paints with immediacy and physicality. Gestures are rapid and decisive, guided by an intuitive rhythm. Brushes extend the movement of the hand, sweeping and striking across the surface in a process that balances control with spontaneity. The resulting compositions hold both tension and cohesion, capturing an embodied response to the environment rather than direct representation.