Debra Stroud has been creative since her childhood. When she was young she would invent toys and tools and even sent in her drawings to toy manufacturers. Stroud’s artistic interests were encouraged at her first school in Guildford, where she participated in music, art, and drama classes every day. However, when she was 9 years old, the school closed and she was without creative encouragement for years. She wanted to attend the Guildford School of Art, but without her parents’ agreement, she was forced to put her dreams of being on artist in the back of her mind.

Stroud eventually studied psychology and philosophy at Sussex University and in London and spend years traveling and working around the world. Her travels encouraged her interest in photography, which naturally evolved to painting, and she has finally returned to her childhood passion. Stroud is currently inspired by the sea; she lives in Hampshire, not far from the shore, and explains that “the sea, with its continually changing moods has always been the greatest source of inspiration for me. There is a wonderful luminosity and reflective light quality that surrounds the coast. Everywhere else is very flat by comparison. This light quality creates ideas and inspires me.” Stroud also uses the memories of the coasts she has visiting around the world in France, South Africa, and California.

Stroud creates her breathtaking, almost minimalist paintings using both watercolor and oil paints on canvas and paper. She uses the rich hues of the oil paints to create visual strength and depth of color, and she likes the use the watercolors to create layers of transparent and luminous shadings and chromatic scales. With her undeniable natural talent and her years of experience, it is no surprise that Stroud’s paintings have been collected across the United Kingdom and around the world and have been made into limited edition fine art prints that are internationally popular.