I read somewhere wherever you are in the UK, you are never more than 50 miles from the sea* and it may be this proximity to the seaside which provides our affinity with it, and likewise the inspiration for so many of our talented artists and designers.

Just as the with Sardine Run china from Jersey Pottery I wrote about here, these beautiful blue and white fish prints below share a love for the sea together with Japanese creative processes.

For her original artwork featuring locally caught Cornish fish, artist Susie Ray adapted an 18th-19th century technique called Gyotaku (fish rubbing) created by Japanese fishermen to visually record the fish they caught. Whilst the fishermen used ink and rice paper, Susie worked with oil paints and cotton cloth, so giving the paintings a wonderful textural depth that conveys a sense of movement and life.

Now she’s released beautiful prints of these originals, using pigment dyed light-fast inks and archival papers:

All prints come in several sizes, and are produced, named and hand-signed by artist Susie Ray,  from The Padstow Mussel Company. 

If you haven’t discovered it yet, Cornwall-based The Padstow Mussel Company‘s shop and website itself is worth a look for its beautiful ceramics, photographs, artwork and tableware.

*(although according to this BBC article, it could differ between 45 and 70 miles depending on what your definition of ‘sea’ is….)