Paul lives locally in the Battle area and has been drawing cartoons for as long as he can remember. Over the years his cartoons have been published in numerous newspapers and magazines, which include Punch, The Oldie as well as the satirical magazine, Private Eye. Paul has been regularly published in Private Eye since 2011, where his work has also appeared in their ‘best of’ compilation annuals.
Harry Cockburn is an environment journalist, writer and artist living in Hastings.
His painting and writing both seek to explore human relationships with the natural world. Painting and drawing the various places he has lived has been a vital way of forging a closer relationship with the area and also how we interact with the forces of nature. His art aims to explore how the worsening environment emergency is informing our relationship with the landscape itself, with art and wider culture.
He has previously painted and exhibited artwork in St Leonards, the Wye Valley, the Forest of Dean, Brighton, and with Extinction Rebellion and local art groups in Hastings.
Photography has been a passion of mine and I have developed a unique eye and honed my ability to capture fleeting, often overlooked, special moments through my camera lens. I believe my neurodiversity helps me to see the world from a different perspective. I hope you enjoy these images as much as I enjoyed taking them, thank you for taking a look.
Nigel Caple studied at Portsmouth where he received a BA Honours Degree in Fine Art. Incorporated into his practise as a painter he developed research projects within Europe and Japan. His works are held in both public and private collections. Caple is also involved in cross-cultural activities and art education. He has lectured for the British Museum, the Japan Society and Hastings Contemporary. During 2022-3 he was chosen as an exhibiting artist for Brewers Towner International Exhibition at Towner Eastbourne.
The Tokaido - Visions of the Eastern Sea Road is an exhibition of paintings that are connected with the Tokaido Road in Japan. Caple travelled on the Tokaido and produced paintings based upon similar locations to those chosen by the Japanese artist Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858) in the early 1830s from his woodblock print series known as The 53 Stations of the Tokaido Road.
Gulls of Hastings is a new exhibition from Charlie Moon.
After his successful exhibition at The Crown in the snug at age 11, Charlie is bringing his new works back to the main room at The Crown at the age of 13.
Inspired by his home town and love of common birds, Charlie believes that creatures don't need to be rare to be fascinating, exciting and appreciated, especially where the magic of nature is at play.
Where others see pests, Charlie sees unique characters and personal stories of Hastings and hopes that you will too through his bright bold colours.
5% of all sales will be donated to Mallydams Wood animal rescue centre, RSPCA.
"Hi, my name is William Ede-Smith, I'm an autistic artist who lives in Eastbourne. I'm a sculptor, and landscape painter.
In my paintings I try to invoke a sense of liminal space, fixed geographically but not to a moment in time.
I'm a member of the indiVISIBLE art collective which promotes artists from underrepresented backgrounds, and Outside In which promotes artists who face significant barriers to the art world.
As The Crown very generously doesn't take a commission on art sales, I'll be donating 20% of all sales here, through my own website, and anywhere else throughout April, to Little Gate Farm, which supports autistic people into employment."
“Folklore and history, especially the stories from the land around us, are central to my work. They tell stories of resilience, transformation, and survival.
This collection of work explores my personal experiences of mental illness, including Body Dysmorphic Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and my hospitalisation at ‘Bedlam’ (Bethlem Royal Hospital).
My stay at Bedlam was the hardest, most intense experience of my life, and often, not what I expected...Death days, superstition obstacle courses, fear-themed fancy dress, singing, dancing, and art. I faced my fears through pioneering therapies.
Now in a place of reflection and recovery, my work represents a vital reconnection to artistic expression that was once suppressed by illness.
I’ve been working with textiles, stemming from my complicated relationship with clothing and an interest in costume. I’ve been cutting up my own clothes and repurposing fabric, inspired by signal flags—simple shapes and bold colours that convey urgent messages. While we are encouraged to talk about mental health, it can be difficult to find the right words. I’m looking for new ways to say things.”
dedicated to Lyra
“In the corners of my memory live my Enchanted Creatures. Fragments of Fairy Tales, the magic of the circus, Memento Mori of Victorian taxidermy, the wonder and fear of childhood ~ all exist and collide in my imagination and have been brought to life as my Enchanted Creatures with precious fabrics and loving stitches. Each piece is unique and handmade by me in my little cottage by the sea. And they may, or may not be, renditions of creatures that are real…
There is a memory to cloth and the ability to heal in the working of each stitch and each of my creatures embodies this process of healing and memory. Antique textiles, my great Nana’s broken string of pearls, Victorian jet, discarded wedding dresses ~ precious scraps and mementos are stitched into life ~ A cabinet of enchanted curiosities in the heart of Hastings Old Town.
By day, I run a dressmaking school and delve into the archives of fashion and film history and share my sewing and crafting adventures through videography. By night, I bring my enchanted creatures to life.”
Tara Deighton is a Textile Artist specialising in heritage and traditional Stitch Craft.
Emma Scutt is an artist and illustrator living in Hastings. She studied art at O and A level, followed by a BA degree in Illustration from Norwich School of Art.
Emma creates hand-painted illustrations for her own range of prints, greetings cards and mugs featuring feminist icons and popular characters from film, television and music, as well as painting commissions. She also uses her art to help raise awareness of human issues, exhibiting paintings which tackle subjects such as FGM, refugees, childlessness and menopause.
Like so many artists Emma was lured to the seaside by the extraordinary light and constantly changing colours of the sea and the big skies. Since moving from London to Hastings she has drawn on the town, the people and the ocean as inspiration for her art, and for the past three years has produced a limited edition Hastings calendar featuring watercolour illustrations of favourite places, views and buildings, and the Jack in the Green and Bonfire night processions.
Emma has exhibited extensively at London venues including the Houses of Parliament, the William Morris Gallery in Walthamstow, and the Mall Gallery; and in Hastings in group shows at the Hastings Museum and Tadhg Mae Gallery. This is her first solo show in Hastings.
All framed original watercolour paintings are for sale, giclee prints are available to order.
I am a printmaker living in St Leonards and I specialise in Limited Edition Etchings which involves the skill of making a printing plate and then printing that successfully.
My work is cartoon like and amusing and colourful and full of texture and patterns. Recently I have been cutting up and combining different types of printmaking to make a unique one off picture. Working like this leads to ideas such as adding beads and buttons which in turn catch the light and add an extra element to the picture. I specialise in birds both real and imagined, but also have dogs, cats, giraffes, fish, seahorses and now boats on the sea in my repertoire…
I try and add some movement to my characters and my birds are often walking or flying and I hope people will smile when they look at my pictures as I have tried to make their everyday lives amusing…