Why the Northern Beaches are the Perfect Muse for Artists

Long Reef, 2023

Northern Beaches As A Muse

There’s a quiet kind of magic here—the kind that seeps into your bones and finds its way into your brushstrokes. The Northern Beaches isn’t just a beautiful backdrop; for me, it’s a muse. The sea, the breeze, the way the light cracks through the cloud cover—it’s all part of the language I draw from when I paint.

Living so close to the ocean is something I once wrote down as a wish for “grown-up me.” A time capsule moment that came true for me, still a kid at heart, I marvel at how quickly I can escape to the dunes or lose myself along the windswept coastline. Within minutes, I could be earthing barefoot, soaking in the sounds and stillness, or letting the rhythm of the waves settle my mind.

Colour Palette Inspiration

Art inspired by nature, the natural elements shape not just the stories I tell on canvas but the way I see the world. There’s something deeply intuitive about being drawn to paint when the environment is so alive with colour and movement. The Northern Beaches doesn’t just offer one version of blue—it offers every version and more from the soft lilacs and golden hues of first light to those blinding-bright blues of cloudless afternoons, right through to pink-and-orange-drenched sunsets that blur into dusk.

Capturing Mood & Atmosphere in Paintings

Blue will always hold a special place in my palette, but the interplay of Naples yellow with a deep Ultramarine or the quiet magic of a pink and Indigo—these are colours born from time spent watching light dance on the water. Every walk, every swim, every pause to look up becomes a reference, a memory, or a mood I want to translate.

If you view my gallery of work or inspo on my socials, you’ll see a steady stream of #blueinspo. But really, it’s the full emotional spectrum of the coastline that speaks to me. The ocean doesn’t stay the same, and neither does the sky. They change in seconds, and that movement—that epic, moody shift of colour or light—is what I try to hold onto in my work.

A Like-minded Community

What’s been just as inspiring as the land and sea is the Sydney Northern Beaches community—creative, down-to-earth, and quietly supportive. I’ve met so many artists, makers, and local dreamers who also feel the pull of this place. There’s something special about being surrounded by people who “get it”—who understand the urge to stop mid-walk to photograph the sky or talk about the colour of the sky or the surf over coffee. That sense of belonging, of resonance, is another reason I feel so grounded and creatively energised here.

It’s this ever-changing natural theatre—and the beautiful people drawn to it—that makes the Northern Beaches the perfect muse. For a community that listens closely, who pause to feel, and who lean into the wild beauty of this place, it gives you everything you need to begin.

If you’d like to follow along with new work from my Northern Beaches Artist Studio, artist musings, and tidbits about upcoming exhibitions (no weekly spam, just updates in artist time), you can join my mailing list here.

Thanks for being part of this adventure with me. Stay tuned for more!

— Holly 💙

#hollymahoney.artist #NorthernBeachesArtist