The tidal mudflats of the Baie de Somme of Le Crotoy in Picardy, France, are a magnet to those who love horizons, sunsets and walking within an ever-changing landscape under an infinite sky. In these times of mind-numbing global conflicts and erosion of civilisation, going barefoot, alternating between cooling mud, hardened wind-blown sand, and edgy patches of broken shells, while looking in awe at the sky, is an invaluable, momentary break. It provides us with a parenthesis to refocus and recharge and appreciate the beauty out there that we just need to slow down for and choose to take in. Just look up.
The receding tidal waters in the delta leave a vast glistening landscape with swathes of unique greys, some tinged blue, others green, complemented by sandbanks in beige and cream, in turn divided by strips of mirror water that reflect hazy white heavens, fast-moving clouds or bright blue skies. Every day is different, and few capture and communicate this as well as Pippa Darbyshire, recently recognised by a major exhibition at the L’Abbaye de Saint Riquier.
Pippa has been painting these landscapes for over two decades, each as unique as the next. These are subtle, meditative works without clear boundaries between beach, seascape, landscape and sky – with hints at inspiration by the hazy realism of Giorgio Morandi, the contemplative colour spaces of Mark Rothko and the veiled skies of Edward Turner.
In honour of the moment, Pippa Darbyshire titles most of her paintings by the day of the year. 18 October 2024 communicates that autumnal day’s misty feel through its brown-grey foreground at the base of the painting. Moving up, grey and cream still water-logged sandbanks extend up to the centre, with the white, reflecting waters forming the next horizontal zone. A thin green line of vegetation is present a little beyond, among rows of water, waves, sand and the opposite shoreline. The upper third of the canvas is the grey-blue sky.
Stand close and feel each space – they are like Rothko’s colour fields, here eliciting a calm, reflecting emotion. Stare at the painting and see how it moves from abstract fields to a representative landscape, then to fields that provoke different emotions, and back again, as the eyes, mind, and feelings take turns catching our attention.
16 November 2024 is a departure from the horizontal spacing Pippa adopted over the last decade. Here she integrates the curves of the waters that become forever-changing triangles as the tides rise and ebb. Despite the sharp points of the triangle, 16 November 2024 creates a hypnotic calm. Anchored by the painting’s perspective, I just want to stand in front of it and lose myself in the waters reflecting the skies, and in the greyish sky, glowing slightly pink, reminding us that light and life are still there, giving hope. It feels like a new dawn, full of promise.
The Baie de Somme is much more than the ever-changing delta. The skies are huge. 6 January 2025 offers us immensity of the winter sky with its mix of clouds and blue shining through. The sun is slightly off-centre, creating a subtle energy. There is also a tension between the sun and hope, represented by the blue, and the threats of rain and the grey.
Much of the magic of the Baie de Somme is seeing the sky through the water mirrors. 15 December 2024 gives us a mesmerising study in clouds. Pippa Darbyshire has still to explore the powerful sky blue that has inspired other artists (e.g. visiting Dutch painter Annet Hiltermann) or the astonishing sunset colours that intrigue another English artist, Andrew Simpkin. While Pippa Darbyshire has already had a long career as a landscape painter (and Morandiesque treatment of day-to-day objects and cityscapes), the Baie de Somme will, I’m sure, continue to be her muse and drive her to explore the full palette of colours on the great canvas of the Picardy sky.
Taking the time to look at the skies reminds me of Wim Wenders’ film, Perfect Days, where Hirayama, played by the extraordinary Kōji Yakusho, stops for a moment when leaving the front door every morning. He looks up at and takes in the dawn sky. A moment’s connection between a modest man and magnificent nature. It is an important punctuation point in his day. And whatever our jobs, it can be an important anchor point for us.
The Baie de Somme and Le Crotoy are open year-round. Pippa Darbyshire’s paintings can be seen on her site and in her workshop (upon demand) in the nearby Noyelles-sur-Mer, on a direct train line from Paris. Her works remind us of the immensity of nature and the awe we can feel if we just look up. In these times of global conflict, chaos and greed, it is good to take a moment away from doomscrolling the news and simply appreciate what nature shares at no cost.
One of artist’s works was featured in the cover of TBR Autumn 2025.
