Hampshire &amp; Isle of Wight


<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1509" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/hants/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2026/02/Kurt-Jackson-Autumn-flows-slowly-down-the-Lymington.-2025.-1.jpg" alt="Kurt-Jackson-artist Autumn-flows-slowly-down-the-Lymington.2025 exhibition hampshire" class="wp-image-39517" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/hants/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2026/02/Kurt-Jackson-Autumn-flows-slowly-down-the-Lymington.-2025.-1.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/hants/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2026/02/Kurt-Jackson-Autumn-flows-slowly-down-the-Lymington.-2025.-1-795x800.jpg 795w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/hants/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2026/02/Kurt-Jackson-Autumn-flows-slowly-down-the-Lymington.-2025.-1-994x1000.jpg 994w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/hants/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2026/02/Kurt-Jackson-Autumn-flows-slowly-down-the-Lymington.-2025.-1-768x773.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



<p>If you like your art a little muddy underfoot (quite literally), you’ll want this on your radar. Based in Cornwall, artist and environmentalist Kurt Jackson is currently showing <em><a href="https://www.kurtjackson.com/lymington-river/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Lymington River</a></em> at <a href="https://www.stbarbe-museum.org.uk/whats-on/exhibitions/current-exhibition/kurt-jackson-lymington-river/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">St Barbe Museum &amp; Art Gallery</a> – a deeply atmospheric exhibition inspired by one of Hampshire’s most tranquil waterways.</p>



<p>Jackson is known for working en plein air, often right at the water’s edge (and sometimes in it), responding directly to the landscape around him. For this exhibition, he followed the Lymington River from its New Forest source to the Solent, capturing its shifting moods, unexpected solitude and rare biodiversity. The result is a striking mix of intimate still lifes and large, expressive canvases – part celebration, part gentle wake-up call about the state of our rivers.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1280" height="960" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/hants/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2026/02/Kurt-Jackson-painting-in-Lymington.jpeg" alt="Artist Kurt Jackson painting Lymington Hampshire" class="wp-image-39515" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/hants/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2026/02/Kurt-Jackson-painting-in-Lymington.jpeg 1280w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/hants/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2026/02/Kurt-Jackson-painting-in-Lymington-800x600.jpeg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/hants/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2026/02/Kurt-Jackson-painting-in-Lymington-1000x750.jpeg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/hants/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2026/02/Kurt-Jackson-painting-in-Lymington-768x576.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px" /></figure>



<p>We caught up with Kurt to talk process, place and why the Lymington River has become such a powerful muse.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-did-you-become-an-artist">How did you become an artist?</h2>



<p>My parents were artists and art was always encouraged. However, in my youth, natural history and art competed for my attention. Art won in the end but I am continually being informed by the natural world and environmental concerns.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-can-you-sum-up-your-work-in-a-sentence">Can you sum up your work in a sentence?</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/01/Kurt-Jackson-painting-Muddy-Stilettos-interview-750x1000.jpeg" alt="Kurt Jackson painting on the banks of the river" class="wp-image-39709" /></figure>



<p>My practice is steered and shaped by my passions, concerns and experience in the natural world. I am a visual artist, a polymath working in direct contact with nature.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-s-your-ideal-working-environment">What’s your ideal working environment?</h2>



<p>I move between working in situ, en plein air, and in the studio. I guess my preference is to be quite solitary when I’m working – out under the skies, by water, in woodland or on a riverbank. Being physically present in a place is essential to how I work.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-drew-you-to-the-lymington-river-as-the-focus-for-this-exhibition">What drew you to the Lymington River as the focus for this exhibition?</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1497" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/hants/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2026/01/Kurt-Jackson-Off-The-River-mouth-Lymington.jpeg" alt="Kurt Jackson Off the River mouth Lymington painting artist " class="wp-image-39466" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/hants/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2026/01/Kurt-Jackson-Off-The-River-mouth-Lymington.jpeg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/hants/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2026/01/Kurt-Jackson-Off-The-River-mouth-Lymington-800x798.jpeg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/hants/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2026/01/Kurt-Jackson-Off-The-River-mouth-Lymington-1000x998.jpeg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/hants/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2026/01/Kurt-Jackson-Off-The-River-mouth-Lymington-400x400.jpeg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/hants/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2026/01/Kurt-Jackson-Off-The-River-mouth-Lymington-768x766.jpeg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/hants/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2026/01/Kurt-Jackson-Off-The-River-mouth-Lymington-500x500.jpeg 500w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



<p>All rivers are in dire straits in these times… they are the canary in the coal mine. Yet I was struck by the Lymington River’s refreshingly healthy condition and rich biodiversity. For such a populated area, it was surprisingly easy to be alone – just me and the river – and to find the varied, immersive material that fuels my work.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tell-us-a-little-bit-about-your-inspiration-and-process">Tell us a little bit about your inspiration and process</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1508" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/hants/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2026/02/Kurt-Jackson-Hawkweed-oxtongue-plantain-yarrow-rosehips-sea-mayweed-common-reed-from-Lymington-reedbeds.-2024.-1.jpg" alt="Kurt Jackson - Hawkweed oxtongue, plantain, yarrow , rosehips, sea mayweed, common reed from Lymington reedbeds. 2024. .jpg
" class="wp-image-39516" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/hants/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2026/02/Kurt-Jackson-Hawkweed-oxtongue-plantain-yarrow-rosehips-sea-mayweed-common-reed-from-Lymington-reedbeds.-2024.-1.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/hants/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2026/02/Kurt-Jackson-Hawkweed-oxtongue-plantain-yarrow-rosehips-sea-mayweed-common-reed-from-Lymington-reedbeds.-2024.-1-796x800.jpg 796w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/hants/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2026/02/Kurt-Jackson-Hawkweed-oxtongue-plantain-yarrow-rosehips-sea-mayweed-common-reed-from-Lymington-reedbeds.-2024.-1-995x1000.jpg 995w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/hants/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2026/02/Kurt-Jackson-Hawkweed-oxtongue-plantain-yarrow-rosehips-sea-mayweed-common-reed-from-Lymington-reedbeds.-2024.-1-768x772.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



<p>I isolate myself in marginal open-air locations and allow for a collaboration to occur between my materials, the elements, the fauna and flora and the physical topography. I then try to respond by putting my marks down on the board or canvas in hand. It’s a dialogue – between me and the place.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-do-you-have-a-favourite-painting-of-yours-or-one-that-holds-strong-memories">Do you have a favourite painting of yours or one that holds strong memories?</h2>



<p>I am particularly fond of a painting I did around ten years ago of my wife, Caroline, wading in the Loup River in the south of France. I painted it on the front of the local newspaper and it’s now framed in a chunky 1920s gold frame. It’s rich in colour and full of memories – sounds, heat, scent. It hangs in our living room above the fireplace.</p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-see-kurt-jackson-lymington-river-at-st-barbe-museum-amp-art-gallery-until-14-march-2026">See<em> </em><a href="https://www.stbarbe-museum.org.uk/whats-on/exhibitions/current-exhibition/kurt-jackson-lymington-river/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Kurt Jackson: Lymington River</em> at St Barbe Museum &amp; Art Gallery</a> until 14 March 2026.</h4>



<p><em>Interview: Rachel Buchanan</em></p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />



<p></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-in-the-mood-for-more">In the mood for more?</h2>



<ul>
<li><a href="https://hants.muddystilettos.co.uk/things-to-do/arts-culture-things-to-do/must-see-arts-culture-in-hampshire-this-season/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Must-see Arts &amp; Culture in Hampshire</a></li>



<li><a href="https://hants.muddystilettos.co.uk/things-to-do/arts-culture-things-to-do/jane-austen-winchester/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jane Austen 250: Inside the writer&#8217;s final Winchester home</a></li>
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Exhibition: Artist Kurt Jackson’s Lymington River at the St Barbe Gallery

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