It’s now 12 years ago that Ric W. Horner has moved into the late Dan Sherrin’s  quirky cottage on The Saxon Shore Way in Whitstable,  a long-distance footpath in England, which starts at Gravesend, Kent, and traces the coast of South-East England for 163 miles in total. He is one in a long line of artists , writers and novelists that made the town their home, for reasons such as the gorgeous light and stunning sunsets. 

“Since moving into the late artist Dan Sherrin’s old cottage, I have set up my studio at the front of the house, which overlooks the sea.  This has changed my working practice profoundly, as I now have a myriad of subject matter in front of me and I am less dependent on notes and colour sketches. I can now work directly on canvas from my subject and study in detail various sea states and “light events” which may have previously evaded me. It’s become possible to study storms in greater detail and track showers and their influence on the sea in some degree of comfort. Sadly, despite the house’s prominence and history, time and gravity has taken its toll, leaving it bereft of level floors, so when I first moved in, the horizon appeared to lean when looking out!” 

Eccentric painter Dan Sherrin (1869 – 1940) was an artist that could not be missed about the town, as he insisted on wearing the most outrageously chequer plus-fours and his love of beer was legendary.

Dan was also a famous self-publicist of the most humorous kind, a practical joker who not only poked fun at those in authority – he even built his own airplane and created a spoof fire brigade!  

One of Dan’s paintings still hangs in Buckingham Palace, as he was once commissioned by King George V. Furthermore. An elderly neighbour who lived nearby in Preston Parade Seasalter, has told Ric that he recalls seeing Winston Churchill plus entourage on the little foot bridge on Preston Parade, viewing the newly installed gun battery, which was right in front of the house in about 1943.

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Ric says: “My paintings have much to do with the changing energy of weather; encompassing all sorts of environmental conditions, which can range massively from attractive, peaceful and scenic to threatening and dangerous.” Furthermore, the famous British painter J.M.W. Turner (1775–1851) described the sunsets along the North Kent coast as some of the best in the world and just like him, Ric continues to explore these  light conditions in his own work.  

Ric opens his studio to the public on most days throughout the year. You can visit him and either buy some of his original paintings, prints and greeting cards.

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