Pure Light, Bright Water

Thursday 4 April to Monday 6 May

Free entry: 10am to 5pm daily

Meet the Artist: Saturday 6 April, 2pm to 4pm

Inspired by the mood, purity and ephemeral nature of North Yorkshire's light, Sue Morton's paintings show its effect on our landscapes, both new and familiar.

Sue Morton’s work is motivated by her life-long fascination with vernacular buildings, both great and small (and in various states of dilapidation), and with the ever-changing moods of the coast.

Sue trained in the arts, worked in the museum and arts sector, and ran an historic house educational museum. For more than 15 years she was associate and then principal of an historic buildings consultancy, painting and exhibiting when she could. Finally, longing to return to her roots, she gave up the 'day job' and came 'home' to Whitby to paint full time.

Sue says:

I have worked in and with historic buildings for much of my career, and have loved being on the sea all my life.

Yorkshire's villages and hamlets have a very special character. They nestle in beautiful wild countryside and are enhanced by the clarity of the air and the mists over sea and moorland, which intensify colour and create amazing sunrises and light effects

My constant challenge and joy is to try and distil such ephemeral scenes into a completed picture, and preserve a spirit of place and time in a fast-changing world.