Abigail Hampsey is a British landscape painter, maker, storyteller and imaginer. Born in Lancashire (1996) She received her BA in Fine art from Newcastle university (2019) and her MA in Painting from the Royal college of Art (2022). Abigail’s work has been exhibited throughout the UK, Including WORKPLACE Gallery, London, The Holden Gallery, Manchester and Gallagher and Turner, Newcastle, amongst others.

 Abigail was the recipient of The Basil H.Alkazzi Scholarship Award in painting at the Royal College of Art (2020-22) and has been shortlisted for multiple awards such as the Beep Painting biennale and the Jacksons art prize (2023). As well as this Abigail is a Painting Tutor at Newcastle university, A Baker, A farm Hand, A Barista and the newest member of the Contemporary British Painting collective (2023).

 Hampseys practice Is interested in the overall exploration of landscape. Landscapes of the mind, of narrative and of the world around her. Now once again living in the landscape of her youth the artists is for the first time painting these landscapes, not from memory as before but firsthand. Such paintings are conceived during long walks and runs into the unfolding fields and fells that surround her. Documenting what she sees with drawings, writing and photography almost obsessively.

 Although Abigail’s practice is born out of a deep compulsion to be outdoors, her work is laced with an underlying sense of sadness and loss. Loss of our “wild” spaces, the loss of the people and places who first introduced the artist to the landscape  and the loss of our overall ability to interact freely with and in nature. Both at a local and global level.

 As well as painting ,these feeling of loss have made their way into Abigail’s work in the form of sculpture, craft and poetry. Learning old practices and crafts as well as discovering dyeing words, deeply rooted to the land and its people.

 Peat bog, poets, sandstone, limestone, hagstones, dry stone, cairns, carvers, forests, fells and fairy folk populate the  artists waking and sleeping moments wandering their way into her work as if all is her reality.  Referencing  her daily life  living and working in the north west of England the artist also speaks heavily to those who have gone before her such as Beatrice potter, William and Dorothy Wordsworth, Jon Ruskin as well as acknowledging the industry’s and makers of her hometown and family heritage. Smiths, farmers, walkers and Wallers. Witches and window makers. All story’s, fact or fiction are up for grabs.