Sophie Abbott is an abstract painter who graduated from Chichester University in 1997 with a degree in Art & Related Arts. She lives and works from her studio in Brighton, where the sea provides a perfect and ever-changing backdrop. It’s in this environment that she explores in her fluid, experimental style.
Sophie describes her paintings as a spontaneous, sensual reaction to the sea, sky and landscape, and they are united by a joyous use of colour. She uses memories of landscapes to inform each canvas, and often paints en plein air, immersed in the world.
"Part of the painting process for me is getting lost in the work, wondering which direction to go in, what to paint, how to express what it is I’m trying to say about the ever changing landscape. My aim is to intuitively create a world that you can get lost in, but return to again and again and discover something new or familiar, somewhere 'other', where the viewer can also lose themselves, for a moment in time.. I paint spontaneously, which I love, and I try not to focus on the end result too much, letting the brush marks, splotches and spills occur. Often they will become part of the work itself, which is for me a very physical process."