Sea paintings and seascapes
Open Water is the plainest ocean art we make, nothing but sea and light: a long horizon and swell in layered greens and greys. The Cove shows clear green water between low grassy headlands. Sea Fret is softer again, a headland fading into sea mist with one small boat in the haze.
These are prints of painterly scenes, not original paintings, and we print each one when you order. Choose an open-water view for a broad horizon, or a harbour for more detail. If you came looking for the great sea paintings, our guide to famous sea paintings says where Turner's and Constable's hang.
Harbours and boats: marine art prints
In Inner Harbour, a row of white cottages looks down on wooden boats afloat behind the harbour wall. Crab Boats shows two wooden fishing boats on a slipway among lobster pots and rope. Harbour Steps follows worn stone steps down into green water, a rowing boat tied at the foot. Low Tide is a winding estuary with boats resting on the sand.
In harbour art like this, the boats are part of the coast. If the boat should be the subject, see our sailing prints, motorboat prints or the square-riggers in our ship prints. Our guide to ship vs boat explains where one becomes the other. For a boat you own, we can make a print from your photo.
Seaside wall art
Shingle Shore is a long pebble beach curving into the haze beside a timber groyne. It suits a room that wants the feel of a day at the seaside. Beach Huts, Rock Pools, Dunes and Low Sun come from our beach prints.
Seaside wall art works best where people pass it every day: a hallway, a kitchen or the landing outside a child's room. Beach Huts brings bright colour, Rock Pools suits a family that spends the holidays with a bucket and net, and Low Sun has the warm light of an evening on the sand.
Coastal prints by colour
Choose by the room's light as much as by subject. The pale, misty pieces, Sea Fret, Shingle Shore and Open Water, suit a north-facing room or a small space, where they keep things light. The greener pieces, The Cove and Inner Harbour, bring colour to a white or grey wall. Crab Boats and Harbour Steps have warmer ochres that sit well with timber floors and furniture.
If you already have a coastal print, look at its strongest colour and pick a second piece that shares it. A shared green or a shared ochre ties two pictures together, even when the scenes are different.
Lighthouses
Four of our lighthouse prints sit here too: Headland Light, Striped Tower, Pier End and First Light. All eight are in our lighthouse prints.
Coastal wall art for a living room, bedroom or hallway
In a living room, a harbour scene at 50x70 cm or larger holds the space above a sofa. In a bedroom, choose a calm scene with wide water, such as Open Water or The Cove, and centre it above the bed. In a hallway, a portrait lighthouse fits a narrow wall.
Bathrooms are damp, and paper, canvas and wood don't like damp. If you want a coastal print there, choose a well-ventilated room and hang it away from the shower.
Large and framed coastal wall art
Paper posters go from A4 up to 70x100 cm. Canvas comes in four sizes, from 30x40 to 60x80 cm. For a gallery wall, mix one large piece with two or three smaller ones and keep the gaps even. Lay the frames out on the floor first, or tape paper shapes to the wall. Our print sizes guide explains each size.
With a coastal print, a black frame sharpens the line of the horizon. A natural wood frame picks up sand and driftwood colours.
Canvas coastal prints
Canvas suits the softer, misty scenes, where the texture adds to the brushwork. A framed print suits the harbour pieces, where the boats and stonework have more fine detail.
Coastal art for a cottage or a holiday let
A holiday cottage needs pictures that suit a lot of guests and a lot of weather. Calm, uncluttered scenes do that better than busy ones. Hang one larger piece in the living room and a smaller one in each bedroom, all from the same palette, so the place feels pulled together. Framed posters have a plexiglass front, so a quick wipe keeps them clean between stays.
Coastal gifts
For someone who loves the sea but doesn't sail, a coastal print is an easy present to get right. See our nautical gifts, or our full collection of boat prints.