This year’s Northants Open Studios event sees Mel Beacroft’s art on display at Culworth. Her work is inspired by nature, notably trees, flowers and field margins.

When landscape painting, Mel use oils, acrylics or watercolours, often taking inspiration from rural Northamptonshire. By employing a range of tools including palette knives, mop brushes and large rounds, this allows her to create gestural marks, washes and expressive brushwork.

Stepping out from Mel’s home studio takes her directly into the garden where she can sketch and experiment with compositions for lino designs and drypoint plates. Home-grown flowers and seed heads are fun to carve and incise as they provide exciting lines, shapes and forms - perfect for printmaking. Mel’s artwork is certainly a result of her passion for gardening and nature.