Beautiful Places – From Beaulieu to Bucklers Hard – the Artists view

May 10, 2026

Open until 10th May!

The Buckler’s Hard Shipyard Trust has opened a new free exhibition at the historic shipbuilding village of Buckler’s Hard. The exhibition features two leading artists who spent a year painting around the Beaulieu Estate at the Shipwrights Gallery in the historic shipbuilding village of Buckler’s Hard.

Paula Mitchell and Nick Botting were commissioned to capture the essence of the area, its beauty and historic settings, often painting amidst ponies and people, through rain and shine.
Nick Botting has an instinctive ability to capture in paint the atmosphere of his subject. Direct experience and careful observation are important themes throughout his work. He makes a point of painting directly from the subject rather than depending on references, for this establishes a spontaneity and sense of genuine experience that is often lost in the studio.
Paula Mitchell ARSMA from Hampshire, is a multi-award-winning artist with the Federation of British Artists and Hampshire born.
As a professional painter, Paula is known for her plein air oil paintings which capture the landscape and coastlines of the New Forest and Hampshire.

This exhibition includes a variety of Paula’s oil paintings, all of which originated from her work as a ‘en plein air’ painter. Paula’s paintings always begin outdoors involving careful observation to capture the light and atmosphere of the scene in front of her.

Paula’s work has gained selection for the annual exhibitions of the Royal Society of Marine Artists, Society of Women Artists, Royal Institute of Oil Painters and the Royal Society of British Artists.

This free exhibition is open every day 10am – 4pm in the Shipwrights Gallery until 10 May, the building at the top of the riverside slipways.

Buckler’s Hard is open seven days a week in the heart of the New Forest National Park, with its beautiful riverside historic setting and Museum telling its story.
For more details see www.bhshipyardtrust.org.uk.

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