Rhiannon Cottam

Rhiannon Cottam is a Cornish artist whose work celebrates the joyful quirks and overlooked details that give a place its character. Working with playful colour and a sense of artistic licence, she creates paintings that tell stories — from spring flowers pushing through old walls and laundry swaying in the wind, to colourful fishing ropes and crab pots scattered along the coast.

She is particularly drawn to architecture and the patchwork of details found within towns and cities: ancient brickwork, decorative ironwork and stained glass sitting alongside the new. Her work is rooted in looking closely at familiar places and finding something worth celebrating.

Rhiannon studied Fine Art and Performing Arts before completing a BA (Hons) in Dance and later an MA in Illustration at Falmouth University. After several years travelling the world, supported by painting and waitressing, she returned to Cornwall and began working at The Summerhouse Gallery in Marazion, which she went on to purchase in 2023.