As a figurative artist I am predominantly interested in working from life or en plein air, taking inspiration from the landscape of Cornwall – in particular the rivers and creeks of the Fal estuary and the coastal peninsular of the Roseland. I like to work fast on small panels responding to the movement of light or water, trying to capture the feel of a place through energetic loose brushwork. I work in oils using a limited palette on a home made pochade. In the studio I work directly from the subject, often flowers from my own garden, and my aim is to use colour and tone to to convey the character of blooms with a lightness of touch. 

Minnie McNaughton takes inspiration from the Roseland Peninsular and the rivers and creeks around the Fal estuary as well as her garden to create both plein air and still life paintings. A figurative artist living in Cornwall, she strives to catch the essence of a place, chasing the light and the movement of the tides working fast to pin down a response in oils or watercolour using a lightweight pochade and small panels for portability. 

Minnie studied fine art at University College of Wales, Aberystwyth in the 1980s followed by a PGCE at Brighton Polytechnic. She quickly discovered a passion for gallery education and worked within this field at the Royal Pavilion Art Gallery and Museums, Brighton and later the Royal Cornwall Museum, Truro before returning to Art teaching in the 2005. She is now able to devote herself to painting full time although she currently has a part time role within the Art and Design Department at Truro College.

Minnie prefers to work on location in all seasons but when rain stops play, she works in her Feock studio to produce more refined landscapes and still lives, always seeking to maintain a lightness of touch and feeling of spontaneity. She is continually engaged in recording the world around her, be it seascape, floral still life or portrait, and finds the challenge of trying to capture transient beauty while observing structure endlessly fascinating. Growing up in East Devon and now settled in Cornwall, the sea has been a constant presence throughout her life, and she is particularly drawn to the dramatic interplay of water and sky in her paintings.