Royal Society of Marine Artists

04/10/2026

Congratulations Robbie Murdoch RSMA, on your full membership!

'I’m absolutely delighted at being elected as a full member of the RSMA, it’s something I’ve always aspired to join and be part of a wonderful group of painters.
I’ve always wanted to paint outside and have used every opportunity whilst working. Since retiring from Dentistry in 2008 I have studied painting drawing and portraiture at the Heatherly’s school of fine art and been on two trips with Ken Howard RA . I’ve always spent a lot of time on the water and have a fascination for boats and the sea. I’m particularly interested in light, atmosphere and composition. I’ve exhibited many times at the Mall Galleries and am a member of the Wapping Group of Artists.'

03/10/2026

Congratulations to Craig Allan Lee RSMA, who has attained full membership. Well done and well deserved!

Craig is an oil painter based in Hertfordshire, close to the Cambridgeshire border. He enjoys painting both en plein air and in his studio. He’s particularly fond of the British coastline, and the narrative that can come from an everyday beach scene. Since starting in oil paints just over 10 years ago, he has enjoyed the challenge of capturing the nostalgic moments within his work, which remind him of both his own childhood and that of his children.

03/10/2026

Congratulations Lizzie Black ARSMA! Welcome to the society!

'I am delighted to be elected as an Associate Member of the Royal Society Of Marine Artists. I feel deeply connected to the sea as a subject and am continually surprised and excited by it as a painter.’
Mousehole artist Lizzie Black ROI (Royal Institute of Oil Painters) paints en plein air and impressively captures the character and atmosphere of the village where she lives. From the colourful fishing boats to the harbour views out to the Mount, Lizzie’s use of light and colour creates joyful pieces. She is often seen painting in the village, and her work is popular with visitors and locals.
Rooted in a tradition of plein air painting, her work follows the changing patterns of the day, season and weather scape. ‘I strive to capture transitory moments of light, colour, tide and time, and to communicate its beauty and magic on canvas.’

Lizzie developed her formal background in painting through studying at Bristol Art School and Falmouth School of Art. She has exhibited extensively in Cornwall and the West Country and the Mall Galleries in London with the Royal Institute of Oil Painters and the Royal Society of Marine Artists. She teaches from her studio and in the village of Mousehole as well as in Europe as an Art Tutor. Lizzie is currently building an international reputation with works in art collections in the US, Europe and Australia.

02/10/2026

Congratulations Cathy Veale ARSMA! Welcome to the society!

Cathy Veale is a full-time professional watercolour artist based in Dorset, renowned for her large-scale seascapes and coastal scenes. Inspired by the natural beauty of the Jurassic Coast and her passion for sailing, her work focuses on the ever-changing patterns of light and colour created by reflections from the chalk cliffs, shifting tides and the movement of the water.

Working predominantly in watercolour, Cathy is particularly drawn to the medium’s fluidity and transparency, using it to capture the movement, atmosphere and changing character of the sea. Her close connection with the Dorset coastline and experience on the water provide a continuing source of inspiration for her work.

Cathy studied Graphic Design at Bournemouth and Poole College of Art and Design from 1978 to 1981, followed by extensive international travel. She has exhibited widely, including with the South West Academy, the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours and the Royal West of England Academy, as was well as regularly exhibiting at London’s Mall Galleries with the Royal Society of Marine Artists where she was awarded the 2026 Daler-Rowney Prize ‘Where Land Meets the Sea’.

02/10/2026

Congratulations Kayla Martell ARSMA! Welcome to the society!

Kayla Martell is an Irish-Canadian oil painter, whose painterly scenes feel like memories — a last pint before a bon voyage, a retired sailor consigned to assemble model ships, or even a lost boat floating in a bathtub. With a focus on interiors, Kayla uses a cool window light to emphasise the warm tones inside, creating a dreamy atmosphere that invites the viewer to imagine themselves in the room. She has even recently painted the book cover for a new pirate series, Tales of the Sirius.

Her loose brushwork masks a background in engineering, utilising scientific colour theory to express the full range of her palette and subject. An award-winning artist, Kayla teaches oil painting at the Schoolhouse for Art in Enniskerry, and dedicates herself to painting every day.

01/10/2026

Congratulations Tushar Sabale ARSMA !
Welcome to the society. Tushar Sabale Art

Tushar Sabale is an award-winning Indian-born British artist based in London, who mainly paints in oils. His subjects range from urban cityscapes and landscapes to seascapes and, occasionally, interiors. He enjoys painting directly from life and developing studio works from his plein air studies.

Tushar is an elected member of The Wapping Group of Artists, Chelsea Art Society and British Plein Air Painters. He is also a co-founder of London Plein Air Painters and an Ambassador for the Broadway Arts Festival.

In 2026, Tushar was appointed a Board Director and Trustee of Broadway Museum and Art Gallery in the Cotswolds, a museum closely associated with John Singer Sargent and the colony of artists that gathered in Broadway, where Sargent painted his celebrated work Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose.

His work has been exhibited with leading British art societies, including the New English Art Club (NEAC), Royal Institute of Oil Painters (ROI) and Royal Society of Marine Artists (RSMA). He has also been an invited artist at the ING Discerning Eye exhibition and has been featured in the Prize Winners Show at Mall Galleries.

Tushar has received numerous national and international awards, including the ROI Award, Cadogan Award, Green & Stone Award and Almenara Award, among others.

In 2025, he was commissioned by British Airways to create a painting for The Gatwick Collection, as part of an international advertising campaign featured across billboards, print and digital media.

28/09/2026

I recently returned from a week of painting in Sozopol, Bulgaria, alongside and a group of fellow artists.

Sozopol is a place of extraordinary coastal light, ancient architecture and a long relationship with the Black Sea. Working outside each day meant responding directly to unfamiliar surroundings—finding a subject, making decisions quickly and allowing the experience of the place to shape the painting.

I was delighted that two of the paintings I made during the trip were left in Sozopol as part of the permanent collection of the town’s Gallery and Museum. It is a wonderful outcome and gives me a lasting connection with a place that offered so much to explore.

Alongside the larger paintings, I became increasingly absorbed by the rock pools: the shifting reflections, submerged forms and meeting of rock, water and light. The resulting studies feel like the beginning of something, and I’m looking forward to developing them into a new body of work.

My thanks to Haidee-Jo for her company, insight and generosity throughout the week.

More from Bulgaria—and the paintings that emerge from it—to follow.

28/09/2026