Sophie Ratcliffe Art Exhibition

4th September until 4th December

Free entry

Sophie Ratcliffe is a contemporary artist based in Cornwall, creating atmospheric acrylic paintings inspired by the sea, movement and the changing light of the Cornish coast.

Having grown up in St Ives, Sophie has always had a close relationship with the ocean. Her work explores both sides of it, its sense of peace and stillness, but also its scale, unpredictability and feeling of adventure.

From 4th September to 4th December, Sophie will be exhibiting at Treloyhan Manor as part of a three-month artist residency. The exhibition will be open to everyone, providing visitors with the opportunity to experience Sophie’s work within the unique setting of the Manor throughout her residency.

Her journey into art has also been shaped by significant personal experiences, including living with epilepsy following a life-changing period of ill health. Those experiences have influenced the way she looks at time, uncertainty and the importance of finding moments of calm, freedom and possibility.

Rather than simply depicting the sea, Sophie uses it as a way of exploring movement and journeys - storms that have to be travelled through, distant horizons, light beneath the surface and the sense that something may be waiting just beyond what can currently be seen.

Working predominantly in acrylic on canvas, her paintings range from powerful, energetic seascapes to quieter underwater scenes designed to create a feeling of immersion, calm and escape.

We would love to welcome you to Treloyhan Manor to experience Sophie’s work throughout her residency and discover the collection for yourself. All pieces in the exhibition will also be available to purchase, offering the opportunity to take a piece of Sophie’s work home with you.

RSVP For The Launch Evening

Exhibition artist statement

This exhibition brings together paintings inspired by my lifelong relationship with the Cornish coast and the sea that has always surrounded me.

Growing up in St Ives, the ocean was never simply something to look at. It represented freedom, adventure and movement, but also somewhere I could find an enormous sense of peace.Those contrasts are what I find myself returning to in my work. Some paintings place the viewer in the middle of movement, travelling through a storm, watching waves collide or looking towards a horizon that still feels some distance away. Others are much quieter: light moving through water, reflections across the surface or the feeling of being completely immersed beneath the sea.

My own experiences have inevitably shaped the way I paint as well. Living with epilepsy after a life-changing period of ill health altered my relationship with uncertainty and made me much more conscious of how quickly life can change.
I don't necessarily paint those experiences literally. Instead, I think they appear in the journeys within the paintings.
There is often movement from one place towards another. A storm still being travelled through. Calm water beyond something turbulent. Light somewhere beneath the surface. A destination that hasn't quite been reached yet.

But equally, not every painting needs to be about overcoming something. Sometimes I simply want a piece to create that rare feeling of stillness, the moment your mind becomes quiet and you can almost imagine yourself inside the scene.
For me, the sea can hold both things at once: peace and adventure, calm and movement, uncertainty and possibility.
That is the feeling I hope people experience when they stand in front of the work.