Coast | Ric W. Horner

Ric’s hometown Margate has recently grown to be quite an artistic hub for Kent. Ever since the opening of the Turner Contemporary back in 2011, The Old Town has grown increasingly trendy and attracted a rise of down-from-Londoners moving to the area. Located adjacent to the harbour, this is an excellent place to start your adventure as it is often buzzing with daily activities of locals and tourists alike. There’s a variety of art galleries like the famous Turner Contemporary, one of the UK’s best contemporary art galleries who is celebrating Margate’s connection with the painter J. M. W. Turner.

The award-winning Margate Main Sands is also a must-visit if you want to experience the famed English seaside. For centuries, it’s drawn in visitors with its golden sandy bay and shallow tidal pool. As one of England’s first grand seaside resorts, Margate continues to live up to its reputation as the go-to for summer holidays, with its charming old town coastal architecture, blend of colourful history, rich cultural traditions, and breath-taking coves and coasts. Furthermore, walking the Thanet Coastal Path is an equally unique experience following the longest continuous stretch of coastal chalk coastline in the country, while enjoying the extensive beaches and wealth of marine wildlife in the North East of Kent.

The Turner Contemporary is well known for showing contemporary and historical art in a striking building and normally presents a rolling programme of temporary exhibitions, events and learning opportunities. With stunning views over Margate Sands, the gallery has exhibited the work of countless international artists, including Turner Prize nominees and winners Antony Gormley, Jeremy Deller, Tracey Emin, Yinka Shonibare, Paula Rego and Grayson Perry.

Ric has painted many places in and around Margate and the Isle of Thanet over the years. They feature some of the nature parks and beaches, like the utterly spectacular Ramsgate Harbour, the marvellous chalk stacks around Botany Bay in Broadstairs, and the chalk cliffs in Birchington.

J.M.W. Turner (1775–1851) described the famous sunsets along the North Kent coast as some of the best sunsets in the world and just like he did, Ric now continues this line and explores the unique light and atmospheres found in this area.

Ric is currently looking to sell his greeting cards and prints in the wider Kentish area. If you are a retailer and interested in stocking any of these, get in touch via enquiries@richorner.com, or tel. 07835294317 for an order form and a Card Catalogue

Below are some samples of framed prints that are available and could also work well in regional gift shops.

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It’s now 11 years that Ric W. Horner has lived in the late Dan Sherrin’s (1869 – 1940) quirky cottage on The Saxon Shore Way in Whitstable, a long-distance footpath in England, which starts at Gravesend, Kent, and traces the coast of South-East England for 163 miles in total. He is one in a long line of artists , writers and novelists that made the town their home, for reasons such as the gorgeous light and stunning sunsets.

Ric focuses in his work on the elemental qualities of open space, the energy of weather and the expressive frequencies of light. Over time Ric has recorded the dynamic changes in weather, atmosphere and cloud formations that one sees in this area, focusing predominantly on the views across the Swale Estuary towards the Isle of Sheppey.

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Artist Dan Sherrin was an artist that could not be missed about the town, as he insisted on wearing the most outrageously chequer plus-fours and his love of beer was legendary. Dan was also a famous self-publicist of the most humorous kind, a practical joker who not only poked fun at those in authority – he even built his own airplane and created a spoof fire brigade!

One of his paintings still hangs in Buckingham Palace, as he was once commissioned by King George V. Furthermore. An elderly neighbour who lived nearby in Preston Parade Seasalter, has told Ric that he recalls seeing Winston Churchill plus entourage on the little foot bridge on Preston Parade, viewing the newly installed gun battery, which was right in front of the house in about 1943.

J.M.W. Turner (1775–1851) described the famous sunsets along the North Kent coast as some of the best in the world and just like Turner, Ric also explores the unique atmospheres found in this area. He says:

“My work has as much to do with the changing weather; encompassing all sorts of environmental conditions, which can range massively from attractive and peaceful to threatening and dangerous, as well as with the geographical location. Since moving into the late artist Dan Sherrin’s old cottage, I have set up my studio at the front of the house, which overlooks the sea.

This has changed my working practice profoundly, as I now have a myriad of subject matter in front of me and I am less dependent on notes and colour sketches. I can now work directly on canvas from my subject and study in detail various sea states and “light events” which may have previously evaded me. It’s become possible to study storms in greater detail and track showers and their influence on the sea in some degree of comfort. Sadly, despite the house’s prominence and history, time and gravity has taken its toll, leaving it bereft of level floors, so when I first moved in, the horizon appeared to lean when looking out from my studio!”

Recently, in February 2024 another artist, internationally acclaimed sculptor Jason deCaires Taylor has installed an activist group of people outside The Old Neptune Pub on West Beach called Sirens of Sewage. Originally intended for placement in a tidal area along the adjacent coastline, the project encountered resistance from local authorities and is now situated on private land less than 10 away from Ric’s studio, and well worth visiting.