Sophie Abbott is a prolific Brighton-based artist known for abstract paintings inspired by the natural landscape. Rather than capturing specific views or locations, each ‘painted memory’ instead tells the story of a life spent in communion with nature. 

Via a joyous use of colour, energetic mark-making and her distinctive approach to texture and perspective, each of Abbott’s artworks immerses us in beauty, embodying how our senses are activated by the natural environment.

“My work always comes back to the things I’m most interested in - the sea, land and sky. I live by the sea. It’s a big part of my life, and a significant inspiration. These landscapes are the places I go on repeat to find peace, to reset, to have fun. They change minute-by-minute, in ways I’m lucky enough to witness, and that’s what I try to capture.”

Abbott’s work can be found in homes, galleries and collections around the world. Her paintings have featured in several TV shows, on packaging for an international drinks brand, and on a limited-edition rug created in collaboration with HABITAT, which sold out within days.

I am always experimenting with my use of colour, which is an intrinsic part of a painting for me, and although on the surface they tend to be bright and luminous, the layers underneath, can often be dark and murky. I am a self confessed colour lover! Marks are made, scratched into, painted over, sponged off and layered back on, its all part of the process, to create a unique piece of work.

I graduated from Chichester University in 1997 with a degree in Art & Related Arts. I live with my husband and 2 children in the vibrant seaside town of Brighton, East Sussex, UK.

I was delighted to collaborate with Habitat on a limited edition, wool-tufted rug, made to celebrate the opening of their Brighton store. The painting below ‘Blue Rocks’ was the inspiration for this rug and was painted about the coastline and rock pools of Rottingdean.