Time gazing at a westerly, expansive view in southwest France provides Alison Toft Davies with an endless source of different atmospheric effects at twilight and dawn. Her practice shows a fascination with evening light, reflections on broad expanses of wet estuary, sand, and the sea. The idea of ‘traces’ impacted on her technique; building subtle textural layers with a palette knife and a minimum of brush work, previous layers of textures becoming traces upon which to work. These pieces therefore are both physically and metaphysically steeped in the sense of what has been as we consider the present.

Alison shows and sells work regularly, having left her post as head of art secondary schools in Oxfordshire. She found teaching art to young people for twenty eight years a privilege, and incredibly rewarding. Now painting full time, she is constantly evolving. Alison graduated with a BA (hons) degree in Fine Art, and a PGCE in Art and Design, and has studios in Wales and The Charente, France. See her work as part of our annual winter open call exhibition, TRACES, showcasing works inspired by the marks that we leave in our wake: footprints in the snow, the enduring warmth of an embrace, the hollow left in the seat of your favourite armchair.

Hi Alison! Can you tell us how you arrived at the theme of your work?
The skies of SW France – where I live for much of the year – give me an endless source of different atmospheric effects at twilight and dawn. I’m particularly fascinated at the moment with evening light and reflections on broad expanses of wet estuary sand. The theme of traces worked really well with my practise of building subtle textural layers with a palette knife and a minimum brush work. Previous layers of textures becoming traces upon which to work. These pieces therefore are both physically and metaphysically steeped in the sense of what has been as we consider what’s next.

Can you walk us through your creative process?
I try to equate landscape with mood and feeling, so its not just representational but emotional. 

Which artists inspire you?
JMW Turner and Charles Daubigny put so much emotion into landscape painting.  Even if your work is quite abstract I really believe more ‘traditional’ artists can fire up ideas and be a driving force in your own interpretations of similar themes. For actual painting techniques, I’ve also learnt from the great masters like Vermeer and Rembrandt. They used glazing to create luminosity and express light by applying thin, transparent layers of colour mixed with linseed oil over a dry underpainting. It allows underlying colours to show through, creating a glowing, rich depth that makes colours appear to glow from within and gives a sense of luminosity

What advice would you give to artists just starting out?
Paint what excites you whilst listening to music that moves you. Once you’ve got an idea and a technique that’s working, intensify the effect by putting yourself into an almost trance-like state with your favourite music that energises or transports you. I’ve done my best work like this!

How do you overcome creative blocks?
If possible work everyday or at least keep a regular practice, it really helps to avoid creative blocks. Don’t worry if you have a ‘bad’ session, actually there’s no such thing, you unconsciously benefit from everything you do. Even if it looks rubbish to you, the next time will be much better and you will get there, but you’ve got to persist and take risks too. Keep looking at other artists, looking at original work every so often so you can see the paint properly.

Will your next project be a continuation of your current style or are you experimenting with something different? Can you share a glimpse of your next project?
On Instagram you can see I’m working on further similar pieces. I call the whole series ‘Estuaire Abstrait’. Also, you can see my journey from realism to a more abstracted style. After this I’m aiming to apply a similar abstracted technique to evening skies and darkening landscape instead of the estuaries. I’m showing in France again next year with two artist friends and hopefully in Gloucester too. Plus open calls are always good, sometimes the themed ones can be motivating and help refresh your ideas.

Connect with Alison over on Instagram and see her work in TRACES running at SFG until January 6th 2026.