BONDLEIGH artist Celia Olsson will be welcoming visitors to her studio in the garden for Devon Open Studios between September 9 and 24.

This has been another year of travel for Celia – south as far as Belize and north to Spitzbergen. Celia takes her sketchbooks to record the things she’s seen, which visitors will be able to see when they visit.

She said: ‘It’s hard to say which was the best place. The Azores were a delight (even on a wet day), Havana in Cuba was overwhelming and the fjords of Norway were just stunning.’

She has come home with so many memories, which, with her sketchbooks, are the inspiration for the paintings she is working on at the moment.

All this travel to far flung places doesn’t mean she’s forgotten home – and she’s seen it from a different angle.

Having breakfast on deck watching Ilfracombe and Combe Martin go past, albeit under a blanket of cloud, was a bit surreal.

She is also producing paintings of woodland near home and of Dartmoor.

Celia paints in a loose style mainly using watercolour because of the wonderful choice of vibrant colours, but also likes to experiment with acrylic inks and various texture media.

She says watercolour is such an exciting media because you never know how it will turn out.

She also runs watercolour classes locally and is invited to demonstrate and run workshops for art groups all over the South West. At these events, she likes to encourage people to have a go without fear of failure.

Celia will be running workshops ‘Playing with Colour’.

At these workshops participants will have fun mixing watercolours and creating textures. They are suitable for those who have never painted before and those who want to get out of a rut and experiment with new methods.

Celia’s studio will be open on various days during September — call 01837 82796 or email [email protected] for more info.