Oxford artist inspired by the sea

Art 22 Feb 11 'Burton Beach', drawn from pictures of Burton Bradstock in Dorset. Rachel said: 'I stood studying the waves for quite a long time. A set of four drawings of different wave studies from the same day will also be exhibited' Britain's coastline is to be showcased in an exhibition of drawings by an Oxford University administrator whose day job involves helping run the University's History of Art Department. Rachel Woodruff's first exhibition, opening at the Jam Factory in Park End Street next month, will include around 20 coastal scenes drawn from hundreds of photos taken while walking along Britain's shores. The artist is currently walking sections of the 630-mile South West Coast Path which extends from Poole in Dorset around the cliffs of Devon and Cornwall to Minehead in Somerset and is calling her exhibition 100 Miles from the Sea. 'Walking is very head-clearing,' Rachel said. 'You get lost in your thoughts and take in the scenery a lot more than you would from seeing it pass you by from the seat of your car.