Le Studio

Le Studio has been established for over twenty years and sells a wide range of gifts and artwork. We occupy an enviable position on the High Street, Christchurch, in Dorset, a stone’s throw from the beautiful 900-year-old Priory. Mudeford and Hengistbury Head are nearby, and the New Forest to the northeast makes Christchurch a popular tourist destination.

We have an excellent relationship with many local artists, and we are privileged to be able to stock a wide and varied range of subjects from the south coast.

Jo and Nick would be pleased to welcome you in person at Le Studio, where they will be happy to offer friendly advice and assistance, as well as the ever-useful complimentary gift-wrapping service. Contacting us is easy - just us on +44 (0)1202 482021 during standard office hours.

Rodney Charman

Rodney Charman first started painting at the age of 21. A self taught artist working primarily in oils, he began by portraying equestrian portraits. The son of a Naval Officer and a passionate sailor, he soon turned to specialising in marine scenes, distinguished by their meticulous detail and atmospheric effects, he turned to painting full time in 1979.

Rodney has travelled extensively to research his paintings, including Hong Kong, China and Nova Scotia and is a frequent visitor to America. There is a permanent display of his work at Nantucket, Massachusetts USA and a book of his paintings detailing the marine history of the famous island was published in 1989. He illustrated the book 'The Famine Ships', published in 1996 and the paintings formed a major exhibition of the artist's work at the South Street Seaport Museum New York in 1998.

A frequent exhibitor at the Royal Society of Marine Artists annual exhibitions in London for many years, he has also had many of his paintings published as Fine Art prints, one of them becoming the third highest selling print in the country.

With tall ship sailing experience aboard the topsail schooner 'Malcolm Miller' and racing regularly in 'X' boats at Lymington, Hampshire, where he lives, Charman has plenty of opportunity to experience the elements that he has chosen to portray.

John Dimech

Artist John Dimech was born in Malta and has lived in Bournemouth for the past 22 years. He has been exhibiting in and around Bournemouth and Poole since the early 90's and spent many seasons exhibiting at the open-air summer art exhibition in Bournemouth Gardens. His work has made its way to Europe and as far away as America and Australia.

John started his career as a gold and silversmith in Malta fashioning and designing jewellery and church artefacts and was inspired to paint by watching his cousins who were also artists. He loves to use colour to bring out emotions and moods through his work.

Using all types of media in his paintings, his predominant theme is the local sea and landscapes. However, he also paints portraits (his last commission was the Prime Minister of Malta!), animals, figurative studies and abstracts. His collection of original oils, watercolours and limited edition prints are sold from various art galleries and The National Trust. John accepts commissions of any type and in any media.

Beth Altabas

Beth Altabas is a very colourful lady, who once ran a number of London massage parlours, and has been shipwrecked in the Bermuda triangle! She is also a black belt at Judo, still holds a lady’s over 50's rowing record and swimming record. She specialises in seascapes and landscapes. Presently living in Cornwall, England, She tends to paint the local scenes around Polperro Harbour and the outlying old farms and cottages. She has completed over 400 panoramic scenes of villages and towns in the South-West of England and these are all available as prints in over four-hundred outlets across the area.

Christopher Hollick

Christopher was born in 1946 and is a completely self-taught watercolour artist. He lives and works in Norfolk, having spent many years in Christchurch, and paints marine and country images of his own area and of France.

Christopher has had work displayed in the following exhibitions and galleries:

• Royal Academy Summer Exhibition.
• Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour.
• Royal Society of British Artists.
• Medici Gallery.
• Sunday Times Singer Friedlander Exhibition.

Philip Martin

Philip Martin was born in Brighton in 1952. After school he went to Jesus College, Cambridge where he spent five years studying architecture. On leaving university he worked for a short period in an architectural practice while continuing to paint. Soon demand for his paintings grew and he gave up his architectural career to concentrate full time on painting. He has exhibited widely throughout the country and his drawings and paintings have been commissioned by a large number of individuals, companies and publications. He now lives and works in an old farmhouse on the edge of the historic city of Cambridge with his wife and four children.

Glyn Martin

Glyn Martin was born in Brighton in 1955. For as far back as he can remember his main interest has been painting. He studied Fine Art at Brighton Polytechnic, Norwich School of Art and finally at the University of East Anglia. Almost immediately after leaving university he began work as a full-time artist and soon settled on the medium of watercolour. He has had several one-man exhibitions and he has attracted a considerable number of private and public collectors and a widening reputation as a fine artist in watercolour.

He now lives in the beautiful Devon countryside with his wife and three children.

Rachel Long

Rachel Long lived in Lymington for over 45 years. She and her husband bought her children up in the town whilst she pursued a career in nursing. After seeing a demonstration of knife painting another career began.

Rachel painted solely with oil and her experiences of sailing and love of the sea and of the New Forest are evident as subjects of her paintings.

Rachel Long prints are collected all over the world.

Terry Harrison

Art as a career was never considered to be a serious option when Terry Harrison was at school in Norfolk. Then in 1965, on moving to Farnborough, and with the encouragement of his new art teacher, Terry took O-Level Art at age 15 and then A-Level later that same year. He subsequently attended Farnham Art School at the age of 16.

His studies led to a career in graphics, and he worked for a while in London and then as an illustrator for Yellow Pages. He used evenings and weekends to perfect his painting techniques and to develop his own style.

Demand for his paintings became such that in 1984 he gave up his "day job" to paint full time. This was a decision he never regretted, and he has been kept constantly busy with a full schedule of exhibitions, private commissions, demonstrations and painting holidays in the south of France (well someone's got to do it!)

Kim Tarpey

Kim worked as an artist and designer for a Poole company, following which she put together several exhibitions of her own work. She enjoys painting and sketching old toys, local scenes, boats and beach huts in the pastels colours she really loves.

We are proud to stock Kim's original work. Please contact us for further details.

Alan Hayden

Alan has always lived in the Bournemouth/Christchurch area, and over the years has developed a keen interest in the local landscape and its wildlife. He first started painting whilst at school, and went on to the Bournemouth College of Art & Design, initially studying architecture. Alan has painted full-time for the past 10 years.

Time spent pursuing his interest in wildlife has provided the ideal inspiration and material for his work - particularly Christchurch Harbour, Hengistbury Head, the Avon Valley, Poole Harbour, Dorset and Hampshire - as well as a few landscapes from further afield on holiday. He is happy to undertake commissions of favourite scenes, places and buildings, please contact us for further details.

Robin Davidson

Born in Middlesex in 1923 and educated at University College School London, Robin served with the Royal Air Force in Bomber Command from 1941 to 1946 and after the war he became an Industrial Engineer with Kodak Ltd. As a keen photographer he gained recognition and awards in Kodak International Salons.

In 1976 eye problems forced him into early retirement but after two operations his sight was restored and after moving to Dorset he became interested in painting. It was during his enforced retirement that Robin bought his first set of watercolours from Woolworth’s. His friends and acquaintances immediately noticed the quality of his first attempts at painting and requested to keep some of his work. Encouraged by their keen interested Robin persevered and very quickly developed as a first class artist.

A love of the countryside and its natural beauty has inspired Robin to specialise in both Landscape and Seascape painting throughout the United Kingdom. Much of his work has been published on Calendars, Greeting Cards and on Prints in both Open Editions and Limited Editions. Robin has also been commissioned to paint for the National Trust. He has held regular exhibitions and his work has been extremely well received in many parts of the World, and in particular in Japan and the United States where his originals and prints have become collector’s items.

For copyright reasons we are unable to display images of Robin's work, but please contact us as we do stock the entire range of prints.