Constance Milburn

Last Updated on Sunday, 21 March 2010 14:08 Saturday, 06 March 2010 18:40

Constance Milburn is a patron of the Somerset Waterways Development Trust. She is an accomplished artist and has agreed to display some of her paintings of waterways in Somerset on our website. Click on the thumbnails to see a full size image. If you would like to purchase any prints of these pictures please contact Constance on 01823 259656. Mention that you saw the picture on this website and the Trust will benefit from the sale.

Constance started painting watercolours in 1991 after a long career as a teacher of special needs and author of over a hundred and twenty children’s educational textbooks and eleven adult novels.

Born in Bolton, Lancashire, most of her teaching and writing was done in Lytham-St-Annes, where she lived with her husband Michael and their two sons, coming to Taunton in 1986 because of her husband’s work.

In Somerset and the South West Constance sees a picture to paint round every corner. When she retired from teaching, inspired by a neighbour’s efforts at watercolour, she went out and bought a set of paints and a watercolour pad.

Although literally a self-taught artist, she feels that, by reading dozens of instruction books by some of the best landscape painters, she has had the benefit of several excellent tutors. What began as a hobby rapidly became more like a full time job when people began asking to buy her paintings; ten months after she started painting, she held her first exhibition at The County Hotel, Taunton.

For over twenty years Constance has been sailing with her husband and family from Darmouth. She loves to paint seascapes of that area as well as scenes from all over the South West. While living in the North the family spent most weekends and holidays in the Lake District and frequent visits north to see the grandchildren mean that Constance can still paint the mountains and lakes she loves. Always a keen photographer of land and sea, this hobby now contributes a great deal to her painting. Constance hopes her work helps to bring the beauty of our national heritage into peoples’ homes and be a reminder of the importance of preserving what is left of our natural countryside and coastline for future generations.