This year, we’re excited to be hosting five local artists for POSE 2025 – the Portsmouth Open Studio Event.

Come along to explore the work of some talented artists, enjoy a chat, a coffee, and maybe even lunch in our kitchen. While you’re here, don’t miss the street art that brightens our walls, created by renowned artists such as Mr Cenz, Thumbs, and more.

Daniel Stubbs

I would describe myself as a prolific sketchbook artist. The work I produce on a larger scale (whether wall or canvas) always begins from something I’ve been working on in my book. I’m passionate about visual experimentation; I come from a predominantly graphic design education where I was always encouraged to use photography, illustration, typography, painting, print etc in order to express an idea. A style of working I continue with to this day. I have little interest in focusing on one medium alone.

I am a nostalgic person, so things from my childhood have deeply informed my creativity. From growing up in the 1970s and 80s, I’ve been heavily influenced by things like; Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Brutalist Architecture, Denmead Pottery, Dr Seuss, Tucktonia and the Mid Century Modern Style. Though this has now mixed with other influences from later life – such as; Swiss Grit, Outsider Art, West German Pottery, and much more.

Derek Watkins

I’m a figurative painter drawn to the human form, its strength, fragility, and the unspoken stories it holds. My work often explores dancers, especially ballerinas, as a way to capture movement, grace, and emotion in motion. I work primarily in acrylics, layering bold brushwork with subtle texture to evoke depth, energy, and feeling. My current series ‘Echoes of Grace’ delves into the intersection of discipline and vulnerability in dance, revealing the internal fire beneath outward poise. I’m inspired by the raw beauty of expressive movement and how it mirrors the complexity of our emotional lives. Whether I’m painting a portrait or a figure mid-flight, my goal is to create connection—to offer a glimpse of something familiar yet unspoken. I’m based in Southsea and currently developing new work for numerous upcoming shows including the Portsmouth Open Studios Event.

Emilie-Jane Rivers-Martin

I am a multimedia artist living in Portsmouth. Nostalgia is at the core of my work. I spend a lot of time reflecting on core memories which is often triggered by objects I have inherited from family or acquired from charity shops. Nostalgia can sometimes be a painful feeling, reminding us that time is forever moving forward. I try to convey the happier feelings in relation to memory and nostalgia through a playful illustrative style and colour palette.

Being an army brat meant we had to move around. We ended up in Suffolk, so I was fortunate enough to spend most of my childhood surrounded by forests, fields, rivers and the sea. I have many fond memories of being raised in the countryside, and it was initially quite jarring moving to the city, but my experiences have deeply influenced the trajectory of my work. For that, I am most grateful.

Holly McLachlan

I am an artist based in Fareham who uses painting and performance as my creative expressions. Despite my BTEC in Art and Design, I do consider myself to be self-taught. I have been drawing with whatever I can find from a very young age and only made the transition into painting during this BTEC.

I quickly gravitated towards impressionism, expressionism and pop art and was enamoured by artists such as David Hockey, who presented me with a way of painting landscapes with such energy and vibrancy. This began my journey into chasing colour, the bold and the exciting.

Over the last five years, I have taken inspiration from NASA’s missions to Jupiter, particularly the groundbreaking images released from Mission: JUNO which captures the brilliance of the planet’s poles. This series for POSE 2025 is my first collection but will not likely be my last!

Jon Tyrrell

I originally qualified as an Architectural Technologist in 1983, but my interest in art and design lead me to study further and I qualified as a chartered architect in 1990. Graduating from Portsmouth University in 1989 with distinction in Diploma in Architecture. I went on to be a Director of a UK firm of chartered architects until 2022. I now combine my love of architecture (in my own company based in Gosport) alongside my passion as an artist.

I am delighted to be able to exhibit a few of my original abstract paintings here for sale at POSE 2025 but equally happy to chat through special commissions or other works for sale.