Bess Harding

Bess Harding is a self-taught artist, based in West Sussex. Always creative, it took a few years of
experimenting with different areas to find her niche.
Her lightbulb moment came during an oil painting evening class at The Art Academy at the end of
2016, and she has been painting with oils ever since. She is most interested in still life, seeking to
capture the calm grace and quiet composure found in certain objects and exploring the character
and self-possession that can found in the inanimate. She enjoys giving things a little stage to sit
quietly on so that they might be considered.
Having grown up by the coast in Dorset, Bess found the call of the sea strong, moving from London
to Worthing in 2018. The inevitable inspiration that followed has led to a body of semi-abstract
seascape paintings that sit alongside her still lifes.
Bess’s work has been selected for the prestigious Columbia Threadneedle Art Prize (2018), the
Society of Women Artists annual exhibition (2019) and the Royal Society of British Artists annual
exhibition (2020).