Welcome to my salt-watery world!

ALI HIRST     Artist and Illustrator

Hi there and a very warm welcome to my website! My name is Ali and I am the creator of these watery world illustrations and designs.

I live in the West Yorkshire town of Pontefract and love nothing more than adventuring to the creature-rich rockpools of the North Yorkshire coastline for inspiration.

This ever changing border between land and sea, allows me the fleeting opportunity to venture into a fascinating world of the weird and wonderful.  

As I stand knee deep among kelp and wracks, my senses awash with screeching gulls and the heady aroma of brine, ideas begin to swirl and eddy in my mind's eye. The sketches and photos I take on these foraging trips form the basis of my graphic illustrations and drawings. 

I am a self taught artist and began painting and drawing following a serious illness a few years ago. My radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatment were thankfully successful but left me with long lasting side effects.

I found great solace in the natural world and, discovering I could draw and paint what I observed, played a fundamental role on my road to recovery and managing my long term symptoms. Now I can't imagine life without a charcoal stick or paintbrush in my hand, and I am so pleased to be able to share it with you.