Maria Floyd is a landscape painter working from her studio in Dartmoor and takes inspiration from her surroundings and also from the dramatic coastline of Cornwall. She is often found outside in the landscape making a direct and expressive response to the environment. Studio pieces maintain the energy and mood of the coastline and the power of nature is at the core of all her work, with a deep love of the Cornish coastline and the moorlands of Dartmoor and Cornwall. She was shortlisted for the seascape category of the Wildlife Artist of the Year 2016 and exhibited in the Mall Galleries and is now a featured artist of the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation.

The paintings are a direct response to the environment, the form of the land or movement of the sea, capturing the energy of the moment they connect, with waves crashing over the rocks or calm waters edging closer. The work takes form using a language of abstract elements and expressive mark making. The finished paintings are the result of a process starting with a number of sketches made outside at various places on the coast of Cornwall, and then developed further in the studio.

She studied Fine Art and History of Art at Goldsmiths College in London and has participated in exhibitions both group and solo in the South West.

Previous shows:

2016 Moorwood Art, Bruton

2016 Hay studio, Cornwall

2016 Mall Galleries, London (shortlisted for Wildlife Artist of the Year)

2016 Hazlegrove School, Somerset

2015 Moorwood Art, Bruton

2009 Rock Institute, Cornwall

2008 The Red House, Lerryn, Cornwall

2008 Rock Institute, Cornwall