Debs Last is a contemporary artist based in the Cotswolds, working directly from life and memory to create light-filled paintings that explore our relationship with the landscape. Her practice moves between en plein air painting and studio work, drawing on experiences of nature, memory, and storytelling. Debs graduated with an MA in Contemporary Art Practice from Plymouth University in 2020. Her work has been recognised in the Jackson’s Painting Prize (longlisted in 2021 and 2022) and she has held residencies with the National Trust at Bucks Mills Artist Cabin (2022) and as the inaugural visual artist for the Appledore Book Festival (2022). She has been featured in Devon Life Magazine, appeared on BBC Spotlight, and is a regular guest on BBC Radio Devon. In 2022, Debs undertook a year-long en plein air project, painting the landscape every day. This collaborative project encouraged others to engage with nature and the act of painting outdoors. Her practice, which developed further during her time living in North Devon, combines painting with themes of motherhood, family, faith, and the stories we form in the landscape. Now living near Chipping Norton, she continues to explore these ideas, often inspired by the atmosphere of dawn, nightfall, moonlight, and the glow of firelight within the landscape. Her outdoor painting is as much a form of meditation and contemplation as it is an artistic practice, with this lived experience flowing back into her studio work. Debs’ paintings are held in private collections across the UK and abroad. Alongside her own practice, she offers one-to-one mentoring for emerging artists, as well as workshops and wellbeing days for groups, schools, and workplaces.