Creating keeps my equilibrium; it’s how I find balance in the world.
For Nina French, painting begins with atmosphere: wide open landscapes, dramatic skies, rolling hills and the shifting colours of sea and land.
Inspired by the Berkshire Downs of her youth, the wild beauty of the Outer Hebrides, and the rich coastal scenery of Cornwall, her work is rooted in a strong sense of place and emotion. Working primarily in watercolour, Nina embraces the medium’s unpredictability, allowing paint to flow, run and create its own patterns rather than forcing control. Through loose washes, layered colour and occasional acrylic inks for added texture, she creates expressive landscapes and seascapes that invite viewers to connect with a memory, a feeling, or a moment in nature.
Her return to painting came later in life, shaped by retirement and the unexpected stillness of lockdown, which gave her the time and space to fully develop her watercolour practice. After years spent working outside the art world, Nina reconnected with the creativity she had always carried with her through drawing and making. Watercolour became the perfect medium—offering both freedom and challenge, where no two paintings behave the same way. Influenced by artists such as Jane Betteridge and Peter Davis, she has continued to refine a looser, more expressive style, learning to trust the movement of paint and the unexpected textures it creates. Through this balance of control and spontaneity, Nina captures not just a landscape, but the feeling of being within it
LSA: Can you tell us about your journey into art? What first drew you to it, and what has kept you committed to your practice over time?
I always enjoyed painting and drawing through my schooldays and after taking an art foundation course I ended up training to be a jewellery designer and maker. However after a few years of making my living this way I left the art and jewellery world behind, and for financial reasons, retrained and worked in a sales office until I retired. I had continued to draw in my spare time and pursue creative hobbies. Upon retirement I decided that I would like to try painting with watercolours and attended some classes and workshops. Covid struck and suddenly I had endless hours to practice and develop my painting. Eventually I decided to try to exhibit my art and I became a member of the LSA.
LSA: When you’re out in the landscape or working from reference, what’s the first thing that inspires you (colour, light, composition, or something else)?
I love a big open landscape with rolling hills reminiscent of the Berkshire downs where I spent many happy hours in my teenage years. Colour is of equal importance to me whether it is beautiful acid greens, dark indigo skies or turquoise seas. I have travelled to the Outer Hebrides and found the powerful landscape and seascapes there really inspiring. Dramatic scenery is always an influence and Cornwall has also provided me with a rich spectrum with which to work.
LSA: Where do you feel most challenged or rewarded when creating a piece?
My biggest challenge is to create an atmosphere without getting too engrossed in the details particularly with landscape or seascapes. I am drawn to more detail for floral subjects. Working with watercolour creates its own challenges as you are never quite sure what is going to happen! I like to see the way the paint runs and creates its own patterns and just let the paint do its’ own thing and not try too hard to control it. I sometimes add acrylic inks which can give a lot of texture to a piece but the effects can also be quite erratic so it is sometimes a bit of a stressful moment! When it all goes right it is very rewarding but usually impossible to recreate.
LSA: How has your style or approach changed over time? What do you think has driven that change?
I like to work in a loose style and have tried to pursue this more over time. I have been influenced by other watercolour artists who in my opinion have managed to achieve this, such as Jane Betteridge, whose workshops I have attended over the last few years. I am in awe of watercolour artists who manage to create a powerful image of a landscape or seascape with simple washes, allowing the paint to flow and run such as Peter Davis RSW.
LSA: What do you hope people feel or take away when they look at your work?
I hope that people can connect to an atmosphere created in a painting or something that may be reminiscent for them of a time or place that they have enjoyed.