• HOLLY RAZAVI: SUMMER LIGHT ON THE SOUTH DEVON COAST

    HOLLY RAZAVI: SUMMER LIGHT ON THE SOUTH DEVON COAST

    FOR HOLLY RAZAVI, PAINTING IS LESS ABOUT RECORDING A LANDSCAPE THAN PRESERVING A FEELING.

     

    INSPIRED BY THE COASTLINES AND VILLAGES OF SOUTH DEVON, HER QUIETLY ATMOSPHERIC WORKS BLUR THE LINE BETWEEN OBSERVATION AND MEMORY, INVITING THE VIEWER INTO SCENES THAT FEEL AT ONCE FAMILIAR AND WONDERFULLY DREAMLIKE. RENDERED IN SOFT, MUTED TONES, THEY EVOKE THE WARMTH OF LONG SUMMER AFTERNOONS AND THE ENDURING CHARM OF PLACES WE CARRY WITH US LONG AFTER WE'VE LEFT THEM.

     

    TO MARK HOLLY'S FIRST EXHIBITION WITH THE GALLERY DURING SALCOMBE REGATTA WEEK, WE CAUGHT UP WITH HER TO TALK ABOUT SUMMER ON THE COAST, THE LANDSCAPES THAT CONTINUE TO INSPIRE HER, AND THE STORIES HIDDEN WITHIN HER PAINTINGS.

  • THIS IS YOUR FIRST EXHIBITION WITH THE GALLERY DURING SALCOMBE REGATTA WEEK. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO SEE YOUR PAINTINGS SHARED IN A PLACE THAT FEELS SO CONNECTED TO THE LANDSCAPES AND MOMENTS THAT INSPIRE YOU?

     

    Salcombe is such a special place, and to actually have my paintings in a gallery that I have loved for a long time, and for my main theme to be linked to this particular town's regatta celebrations, is so amazing. I have been building up this collection since I moved from Cornwall to Kingsbridge last year — I had never visited Salcombe until then, and I absolutely fell in love with the place, so to now have my work there in an incredible gallery is very exciting. 

     

    YOUR PAINTINGS HAVE A WONDERFUL SENSE OF NOSTALGIA, AS THOUGH THEY CAPTURE A MEMORY RATHER THAN JUST A VIEW. WHERE DOES THAT FEELING COME FROM?

     

    I try to paint as intuitively as possible, especially when picking colours. I remember once going down to the beach — when I first started painting — the sun was setting, and the colours became almost like a hazy, dreamy scene, and I suddenly thought, how can I capture this feeling I'm getting in my paintings. Ever since then I'm still trying to recreate that feeling. Colour is so important, also the balance in the composition — if I stand back and look at my work and think "it's making me feel so calm," then I know the painting is going in the right direction. 

     

    THERE IS A QUIET BEAUTY IN THE EVERYDAY MOMENTS YOU CHOOSE TO PAINT, A FAMILIAR PATH, A GLIMPSE OF THE COAST. WHAT IS IT THAT MAKES A MOMENT WORTH CAPTURING FOR YOU?

     

    Sometimes I just see a tree bending in a certain way and it can trigger something for me, or a winding pathway. I'm never really thinking up a concept in my mind. Sometimes I can be on the beach, or anywhere really, and just be watching how people are interacting with each other, and I want to recreate that in my work. Sometimes I'm inspired when the beaches or streets are heaving and there's lots of movement and it's action-packed, or where I see one person walking their dog, or no people, and just one little boat sailing away on the horizon. I just look around and see so many stories I could recreate in my paintings. 

    I studied textile design before I became a painter, I was definitely inspired while studying at university but worked in a very different way. We had to do a lot of research and colour ways etc. When I graduated, I lost my way a bit creatively. It wasn't until about three or four years later that I picked up a paintbrush. When I first started painting, I was obsessed with skies and clouds; my style back then was very different — it just grew from there. I started noticing things, and slowly, everywhere I looked, I could see a potential painting.

  • HOLLY RAZAVI IN HER STUDIO (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    BOLT HEAD Oil on wood 140 x 120 cm (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    WEST ALVINGTON WOODS Oil on wood 140 x 120 cm (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    SALCOMBE SCHOONERS Oil on wood 140 x 140 cm (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).

    HOLLY RAZAVI IN HER STUDIO

  • YOUR WORK FEELS SOMEWHERE BETWEEN A PLACE REMEMBERED AND A PLACE IMAGINED. WHEN YOU BEGIN A PAINTING, DO YOU USUALLY START WITH A PARTICULAR SCENE, A FEELING, OR A MEMORY?

     

    I take a lot of photos, and once I'm in the studio I might look through reference books or at other artists' work too. But I always want to get to a point where I could paint the whole thing from memory, without needing to check a photo. That's when I feel completely immersed in the painting. 

    I always try to make my paintings look happy, calm and peaceful. I used to work on yachts in the Med and did a few crossings — there'd be nothing but sea around me for days.  That's definitely a memory I'm trying to recreate. Sometimes I paint from the sea looking back at the land — maybe I'm subconsciously trying to put the viewer into that same state of calm I felt out there. 

     

    IF SOMEONE COULD STEP INTO ONE OF YOUR PAINTINGS FOR A SUMMER AFTERNOON, WHERE WOULD YOU HOPE IT WOULD TAKE THEM?

     

    I'd want them to be taken to a place on a little wooden boat, sailing away from the land, leaving all their troubles behind. The sun is setting and the sea is calm. When you look out as far as you can, there's the tiny speck of another sailboat in the distance — and the horizon between the sea and sky doesn't exist anymore. 

  • HOLLY RAZAVI IN HER STUDIO (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    PICNIC Oil on wood 40 × 40 cm (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    DEVON ROAD, SALCOMBE Oil on wood 140 x 120 cm (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    EAST PORTLEMOUTH, SAILING Oil on paper 30 × 42 cm (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).

    HOLLY RAZAVI IN HER STUDIO

  • WE EXTEND OUR HEARTFELT THANKS TO HOLLY RAZAVI FOR SHARING HER THOUGHTS, PROCESS, AND CREATIVE REFLECTIONS WITH US. TO EXPLORE MORE OF HER WORK OR MAKE AN ENQUIRY, PLEASE FOLLOW THE LINK BELOW.

     

    HOLLY RAZAVI COLLECTION

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