Daydreaming in blue with painter, Georgia Beaumont

Meet Georgia Beaumont, the UK-based painter whose dancing floral forms explore the restorative power of nature and the joyfulness of the female spirit. Emerging from the English countryside, Georgia brings with her an innate connection to and appreciation of the natural world - the rich reference point seminal to her paintings. We took a trip to Georgia’s atelier to talk about the symbiotic relationship she’s formed with her craft, the comfort she gets from nature, and how she’s found a ‘constant friend’ in colour. 

Tell us about your journey to becoming an artist. When did you realise this was something you wanted to pursue?

It’s something I always knew deep down but actually found a relatively tricky thing to confront. The idea of pursuing a career with no specific blueprint was really daunting. There were some very hard years at first, feeling like I couldn’t call myself an artist. I was finding my voice in painting and at times I felt like I didn’t have much work to share. But I knew I had to try and keep going in order to not let myself down. Because it lives within you. You have to learn to listen to yourself, and that’s something I’m still tuning into more acutely as my practice develops.

Floral and botanical forms feature heavily in your work. What draws you to these natural elements?

It feels to me like an inherited tradition. The line of women in my family have always had a strong affinity for florals and botanicals, especially my grandmother. There is a femininity to these forms that I find soothing, maternal perhaps. I also take great comfort in nature. Nature is constant in its cyclicality. Seasons come and go. Spring is always hopeful. I’ve always found my walks in nature to be restorative, so it’s the subject I’ve kept returning to in my work. Also, in the compositional sense, there is so much to be found in nature. 

How do you use colour in your work? 

I use colour really intuitively and freely in my work. I generally begin a piece by mixing from 1-2 primary colours and work with around 6-8 hues. I like that from a simple framework you can get so much variety. The painting process is then pretty fluid and subject to a lot of change. If the colours are not harmonising, I feel it and respond to it. In short, my painting will tell me what it needs.

I use colour really intuitively and freely in my work. If the colours are not harmonising, I feel it and respond to it. In short, my painting will tell me what it needs.

Georgia Beaumont

What is the role colour plays in your work? 

Colour is so intrinsically linked to my mood, and the colours I choose to work with are ultimately a reflection of how I was feeling at the time. So both subconsciously and consciously, I use colour in my paintings to create a mood, an atmosphere. My floral forms are ubiquitous in my work, so it’s through colour that I can play with contrast. What I love about working with oil paints is that I can layer thin washes of colour. The more translucent areas of colour create moments of gentleness, whilst the more opaque, flat areas of colour have a stronger, more assertive quality. I tend to characterise my darker pieces with a weighty seriousness and my softer, more tonal works with a certain spring-like playfulness. 

How does colour inspire you? 

Colour is so inspiring to me because of the power of association it can hold. Colour can evoke and trigger distinct memories in the same way that smell does. I love how bright colours have an amazing irreverent, spirited quality. Their capacity to uplift and make your day brighter always inspires me. Whenever I go to my brushes and my paints - especially on those grey and gloomy days - I get an instant mood boost.

Colour is so inspiring to me because of the power of association it can hold. Colour can evoke and trigger distinct memories in the same way that smell does. 

Georgia Beaumont

How would you describe your relationship with colour? 

My relationship with colour feels very intuitive. Over time, I’ve come to deeply understand the blues, greens and pinks I use in my work. They are what I have grown accustomed to; I know the hues and I know how to mix the hues. I love the autonomy my palette gives me. So it's such an assuring, affirming and familiar process when I paint. Colour is like a constant friend in this sense.

Colour is like a constant friend.

Georgia Beaumont

How do you express yourself through your art? 

Ever since I was a child, I’ve found myself self-soothing through my art. It’s always been a way of world-building for me, a way of expressing parts of myself that I’d kept hidden. It is through painting that I can deeper understand my inner spirit and communicate in my own language. Every compositional and colour decision is made from something innate inside of me, and so painting is a way of drawing this ‘guiding spirit’ out and working towards understanding myself more deeply. Every time I paint and play with colour, it’s this amazing, expansive, almost symbiotic experience, because the more I give to my work, the more it gives me.

Every time I paint and play with colour, it’s this amazing, expansive, almost symbiotic experience, because the more I give to my work, the more it gives me.\n

Georgia Beaumont

Who or what are your biggest artistic influences?

The community of contemporary artists that I have met since making my work more public is a huge inspiration. Being an artist feels very soul-baring at times, so anyone who attempts to manifest it in a physical form and put it out there feels wildly courageous to me. I’m also very inspired by the mystic quality in the works of painters like Peter Doig, Marlene Dumas and Hilma af Klint. 

How do you feel in the Blue 19 T-shirt?

Blue is such a dreamlike colour to me. It feels very open to possibility. The Blue 19 colour in this T-shirt has an expansive quality to it, like the sea and sky. It seems to invite wide, free-spirited thinking. So what better colour to create in!

Blue has such an expansive quality to it, like the sea and sky. It seems to invite wide, free-spirited thinking. So what better colour to create in!\n

Georgia Beaumont

To see more of Georgia’s stunning creations, head to her Instagram and check out her website.