The Charm Bracelet (2026)

Original media: Inks, acrylics, gouache, pencils, gold thread and gold leaf.

The Cleveland Way is one of the shorter national trails, beginning in Helmsley in North Yorkshire. The path takes you to the coast at Saltburn by the Sea, and then all along the coastal path to Filey Brigg. In May 2025 I ran the whole path over the course of a week. I was on my own for most of it, then joined by my best running friends at Whitby for the last couple of days. I carried a little running pack with everything I needed for the week on my back (I wasn’t camping!) and the smallest drawing kit in a pouch on my front. I stopped to draw whenever inspiration struck. I took photographs too, but mostly the paintings are based on the sketches.

My great friend Nancyann loves this piece of coast and has often told me about The Charm Bracelet. It’s on the trail between Sknningrove and Saltburn and I know she often walks here with a flask of tea. It’s a steel sculpture designed by Richard Farrington with 10 charms based on local folklore, tradition and industry. It was forged locally at the steelworks in Skinningrove, originally using a piece of old mine shaft mast and scraps of metal. The charms are: a belemnite (an old Jurassic squid (this is the one that looks like an Olympic torch), a mermaid, a pigeon (there are lots of pigeon lofts at Skinningrove), a Cleveland Bay horse, a starfish, a cat (for Cat Nab), a mermaids purse, a steel ring, Thor’s hammer and a piece of protoplasm (a piece of scrap metal for the local industry).
The sculptor was inspired by charm bracelets, but the piece is officially called ‘Circle’. It’s a beautiful thing and frames the sea!

Available as a signed limited edition print, hand-finished with gold leaf and gold thread. All prints are mounted and can be posted, unless purchased framed.