Rafaele Appleby

  • Chasing Sunlight

    Oil on canvas, 150cm x 100cm, Framed

    Shown at the Storey Gallery Lancaster. Painted at Polzeath where the storm shook the house.

  • Gormley's Sentinel

    Oil on canvas board, 76cm x 51cm

    A painting trip with Arlene Munro Wise was cut short by the very first lockdown. Nevertheless the feeling of reassurance from Gormley’s vigilant figure was significant for me

  • Constant-Sea

    Oil on canvas, 150cm x 100cm, Framed

    Painted at Constantine bay where I went with my grandmother when I was a toddler. The rain washed the paint off and everything had to be repainted

  • Across the Sea

    Oil on board, 59cm x 109cm, Framed

    Previously called “Uist Shore” a Hebridean view of great joy

  • Around

    Oil on canvas, 125cm x 60cm, Framed

    A stone circle called Torhousie near Wigtown that several members of the artist’s family have painted

  • Balance

    Oil on canvas board, 81cm x 55cm, Framed

    Legend has it that the islanders rolled this giant rock to this spot before they sailed to America so that we would not forget the victims of the highland clearances

  • Lilishine

    Oil on canvas board, 77cm x 51cm

    Painted from my own studio on Hadrian’s Wall

  • Loch Linnhe Dance

    Oil on canvas, 76cm x 51cm

    Painted on the shores of Loch Linnhe while my son and his friend hurtled down Ben Nevis on Mountain bikes. The mountains seemed to move almost as fast as the bikes, appearing and disappearing in an instant

  • Max Land of Joy

    Oil on board, 72cm x 55cm

    The original painting “Land of Joy” seemed to be missing something, after hearing Max Beiten play (and sketching him during the concert) it seemed a perfect match

  • More

    Mixed media on paper, 76cm x 55cm, Framed

    One of a series of pictures of the Dove rock in Sidobre, France. Shown at the Storey Gallery Lancaster. Called More because it reminded me of Henry Moore’s sculpture

  • Morning Dove

    Oil on canvas, 92cm x 64cm, Framed

    One of a series of pictures of the Dove rock in Sidobre, France. Shown at the Storey Gallery Lancaster.

  • My Favourite House in Rockliffe

    Oil on canvas board, 81cm x 61cm

    Rockcliffe bay is a favourite of my children, and this is my favourite house.

  • Rockliffe

    Pastel on paper, 90cm x 64cm

    Made in situ on a glorious summers day with the tide out

  • Sandaig Hope

    Oil on canvas board, 76cm x 51cm

    The bay where the writer Gavin Maxwell lived, my grandmother and her friend the poet Kathleen Raine stayed there. I went with my friend the painter Arlene Munro Wise to paint

  • Dancing strata

    Pastel on paper, 118cm x 73cm, framed

    The rocks of the Devon Coast have undergone tremendous upheaval and change, the strata becoming works of art in themselves. These are two very big pictures, using the size to evoke the grandeur of the rocks.

    Part of an exhibition “Marking the Land” in Kingsbridge not far from the rocks.

  • Rock waves

    Pastel on paper, 113cm x 73cm, Framed

    The rocks of the Devon Coast have undergone tremendous upheaval and change, the strata becoming works of art in themselves. These are two very big pictures, using the size to evoke the grandeur of the rocks.

    Part of an exhibition “Marking the Land” in Kingsbridge not far from the rocks.


Rafaele Appleby

I was born into an artistic family, surrounded by paintings and music.

I work in my studio on Hadrian's Wall with views of the Cumbrian fells to the south and my kitchen garden to the north. Paintings and pastel drawings are often inspired by, but not limited to, the nature around me. Sometimes the work is swift and energetic, sometimes the picture needs a calm meditative approach.

The music or silence that accompanies my work is never accidental. Much of my work is concerned with colour and light.

The work I do in my studio is intensely private – I like to work in solitude. Though sometimes I choose to go on a painting trip with an artist friend – if she shares my painting rhythms.

It is the wild places that inspire me – rocks (whether by the shore, or settled in ancient circles); seascapes too (if possible remote with crashing waves); skyscapes (the language of clouds fascinate me) and sometimes a flower or two to add to the story. All this is interwoven with family and children who have been brought up surrounded by painting and music.