Focus on west Cumbria: The woman who paints Whitehaven

Natalie Burns said much of Whitehaven's fine Georgian architecture remains

Whitehaven is a Georgian town and harbour on the coast of Cumbria. As part of a focus on the area, the BBC has spoken to one of its artists.

It was during her government-sanctioned exercise trips that Natalie Burns first started to appreciate the beauty of her home town.

With the coronavirus lockdown making it illegal to travel to the Lake District, her usual spot for artistic inspiration, Natalie turned her focus on Whitehaven during her daily permitted walks.

The former teacher-turned-artist was born and raised in the coastal town and, apart for from four years studying in Durham, has lived there all her life.

The town became a major shipping port during Cumbria's industrial revolution when landowners started digging up the landscape in the search for lucrative coal.

Natalie Burns has now painted about 40 streets in Whitehaven

Whitehaven, whose name means "harbour near the white headland", was rapidly designed and developed in a grid formation said to have inspired New York's street patterns, and many of the fine old Georgian buildings survive.

On Foxhouses Road there is a particularly impressive collection of villas that caught Natalie's eye, and that was the first street she decided to commit to canvas.

"It really is the finest Georgian street," she said.

She shared her picture on Facebook sparking many likes and comments, and as interest in her work grew so did her desire to capture the houses and shops of her town.

Natalie started with Foxhouses Road in Whitehaven

It was while painting on another street that she got her nickname from a passer-by who recognised her and said simply: "You're the woman who paints Whitehaven."

She has now painted 40 or so streets, and has spread out to other neighbouring towns, while also getting requests from homeowners to paint their houses.

Natalie Burns was inspired to paint by her visits to the Lake District

"As you start to focus you start to realise just how many buildings have survived for so long," she said, adding: "Some are probably looking a bit worse for wear and need a bit of love and attention but others are perfect.

"There is more history embedded in the streets of Whitehaven than people realise.

"I want to get people to think about the people that have lived and still live in these houses.

"I want to make connections between the streets and the stories of the streets."

She said Whitehaven was "kind of forgotten" being out on a limb on the Cumbrian coast, so "anything that promotes our town is good".

Natalie has also set herself the task of painting all 700 Cumberland buildings listed in Pevsners, the architectural guides produced between the 1940s and 1970s highlighting exceptional buildings.

She has done 300 and plans to get through as many as possible.