Ric Horner’s beach view art studio
by
Dan Sherrin
IT IS now 12 years since I moved into the cottage built by the eccentric painter Dan Sherrin (1869-1940), a small summer residency on the seafront in a secluded beach-view garden.
Local records show that this was the artist’s original studio from which he painted his work The Wreck at Seasalter among others and that had he lived in the large house up the hill called Westbank, next door to the Rose in Bloom pub in Joy Lane.
Dan Sherrin spent the majority of his life here, becoming a successful artist and a local celebrity. Once commissioned by King George V to paint the royal Sandringham residence — the picture still resides in Buckingham Palace — he is now represented in numerous public collections including the Royal Collection Trust and the Imperial War Museum.
Dan was such a remarkable character, a noted self-publicist and practical joker of the most humorous kind, that he was eventually dubbed the Mayor of Seasalter. His love of beer was legendary and he dressed in a range of creative outfits, most noteworthy his outrageous chequered plus-fours. It is reported that he would rise at 4am to complete a painting before breakfast.
His antics were reported regularly by the press, including building an aeroplane in his garden. When coming back from London on the train, he would notoriously stop the train opposite the house, which backed onto the tracks, by pulling the communication cord to avoid having to walk back from the station, despite the inevitable fine.
He commissioned the construction of his own coffin, and when workers were digging the trench for the gas main on Joy Lane, one lunchtime, when they had gone for their break, he lowered the coffin into the trench and laid down in it!
Dan Sherrin also set up the Seasalter fire brigade — but sarcastically insisted that you had to book it a year in advance. It is no surprise that his wild personality led to numerous court appearances.
His sense of humour was also employed by the military in WWI when he designed a darkly comical advert to be used in national newspapers to encourage young men to enlist and fight on the front line by offering holidays in France with free board and food.
Setting
Since this quirky cottage was purpose-built for him, it provided a 180-degree sea view: the perfect setting to capture stunning sunsets and dramatic beach scenes, as well as opportunities to study luminous and expressive clouds, which is my current preoccupation.
I have set up my studio at the front of the house, overlooking the sea. This has changed my working practice profoundly as I now have a wealth of natural beauty in front of me and I am less dependent on notes and colour sketches.
I can now work directly on canvas while engaging with my subject and depict various sea states and light events that may have otherwise evaded me. It has become possible to study storms in greater detail and track showers and their influence on the sea in some degree of comfort. These paintings are therefore composed in my imagination based on observed realities. They are true to my inner eye.
Unfortunately, despite the house’s prominence and history, time and gravity have taken their toll, leaving every floor uneven, so, when I first moved in, the horizon appeared to lean when looking out from the window!
I sell my work directly to the public via my own exhibition space at the front of the studio where you can drop in throughout the year from 10.30am to 5pm and purchase original paintings as well as a wide range of greeting cards and prints.
The work is available online and can be viewed here — www.richorner.com/available-artwork-2025/. A selection of cards is also in stock at George’s Mini Market in the High Street, the Horsebridge Centre and the Artshed on Whitstable harbour.
Note: if you are visiting me in my studio, bear in mind that due to the steep and uneven location, this venue is sadly not suitable for wheelchairs users.
Art tutor
I am also a qualified art tutor and collaborate with my partner Annett. Her work is bold, colourful, and abstract: currently focusing on our wildlife garden and koi fishpond (see Insta @Annett_Banx and facebook.com/AnnettBanx).
We share the space and offer one-to-one tuition and plein-air painting courses in our garden, on the local beach, at the harbour and in other places in the area. On occasions, we have taken participants to Blean Woods nature reserve, an ancient semi-natural woodland near Canterbury, not only to spend time there painting and relaxing but also to highlight the stunning natural spaces on our doorstep.
During these day-long courses we will work with you to identify areas in which you can improve your technical skills, abilities and confidence. You will learn about composition, contrasts, tone, and colour, as well as receive guidance on materials needed to construct a successful landscape painting.
Classes are kept small so that you will get lots of individual attention and can be sure of the highest quality experience. They are intended for beginners and intermediate painters with the primary goal of helping people to enjoy making art and learning new skills.
Even if you are not interested in spending a day painting in the woods, you can still find inspiration in our large and romantic garden, which we have designed from scratch and transformed into a colourful haven.
The Joy Lane open gardens trail — ngs.org.uk/gardens/whitstable-joy-lane-gardens-ct5/— is on Sunday May 18, an event in support of various nursing charities and part of the National Garden Scheme. This is a wonderful opportunity to meet us and enjoy the space we have created to make a positive contribution to wildlife and local people.
Both of us are available for commissions. So, if you fancy having your own garden painted or redesigned with nature in mind get in touch.
Whitstable Artists & Makers Trail
We are taking part in the Whitstable Artists & Makers Trail — www.facebook.com/miwtrail/?locale=en_GB — on Saturday May 3 and Sunday May 4 when about 30 artists will open their houses to the public and welcome in visitors to buy their artwork. You will find flyers with details of all participating creatives around town nearer the time.
The Fishslab Gallery in Oxford Street has been booked from July 15 to 22 for Annett to show her work. Examples may be seen at Etsy.com/uk/shop/AnnettBanxDesign.
And finally, we will also take part in the East Kent Artists’ Open Houses event, a popular annual art trail that runs for three weekends in October as part of the Canterbury Festival Fringe. If you are looking for refreshments before or after your visit to the studio, you can stop at some of our best-known pubs: The Old Neptune, The Sportsman gastropub in Seasalter or indeed The Rose in Bloom pub, right next door to our house in Joy Lane.
About Ric Horner
Established landscape and seascape painter Ric W Horner’s work focuses on the elemental qualities of light, the energy of weather and the drama of the sea. He has worked professionally for over 35 years and has sold his atmospheric paintings all over the world.
Ric first felt inspired to explore the unique light of the north Kent coast around Thanet — one of his early inspirations was the art of the romantic painter JMW Turner (1775-1851) because of his links to Margate and Birchington.
Ric loves Whitstable’s coastline as it is predominantly shallow mud flats, which from a painter’s point of view are a visual feast — even in poor weather they provide as much sky below your feet as above.
You can contact Ric for commissions, original paintings and art classes on 07835 294317, or email enquiries@richorner.com, visit www.richorner.com, see www.instagram.com/richornerpaintings or call (10.30am to 5pm) at Sherrin’s Alley, 65 Joy Lane, Whitstable CT5 4DD.
Gallery
(Click on images to enlarge)
Whitstable Views
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