Why Bottle Alley Feels Like the Perfect Place…

Some places just have a feeling about them.

Bottle Alley is one of those places.

If you’ve never wandered through it, it’s a long covered walkway stretching along the seafront between St Leonards and Hastings. The walls sparkle with thousands of tiny pieces of glass set into the concrete, catching the light in ways that seem to change every few minutes. It’s a place full of texture, sea air and history, and somehow it manages to feel both raw and magical at the same time. Originally built in the 1930s by Sidney Little, it’s become one of the most recognisable and creative spaces on our coastline. (bottlealley.org)

So when I found out I’d been accepted to exhibit at this year’s Bottle Alley Art Market (BAAM)… I may have done a little happy dance.

BAAM isn’t your typical art fair. Every August, Bottle Alley fills with artists, musicians, performers and thousands of people who simply enjoy wandering, discovering and talking about art. What I love most is that it celebrates original work and gives artists the chance to meet the people who connect with it. (bottlealley.org)

There’s something rather lovely about that.

My paintings have always started with curiosity. A colour that catches my eye. The texture of peeling paint. The shimmer of light on water. The layers you only notice when you stop rushing for a moment. Bottle Alley feels a bit like one of my paintings in that respect.

Nothing about it is flat. Everything has depth. Weather has left its mark, the sea has softened the concrete, the glass glitters unexpectedly, and every visit feels slightly different depending on the light.

For my first BAAM, I’m working on something rather special.

It’s a large original painting with an iridescent finish, inspired by light dancing across the sea and those magical moments when colours appear to change as you move around them. It’s one of those pieces that refuses to be captured properly in a photograph because it really needs to be seen in person. As you walk past it, the colours shift, the light catches different layers, and it almost seems to have a life of its own.

It’s still very much a work in progress (my studio floor will happily confirm that), but I already know it’s a piece I’ve poured my heart into.

I’m incredibly excited—and if I’m being honest, just a tiny bit nervous—to share it for the first time at BAAM.

If you’re planning to visit the market this year, please come and say hello. I’d love to meet you, chat about colour, creativity, or simply hear what you see when you look at the paintings. Everyone notices something different, and I think that’s one of the most beautiful things about art.

Until then… I’ll be in the studio, probably covered in paint, chasing that next layer of colour.

Caz x