Britain has a long and quietly remarkable relationship with the natural world. For centuries, we’ve cultivated gardens that blur the line between the familiar and the exotic, places where Victorian explorers’ discoveries now grow beside native hedgerow species and small garden birds flit through foliage collected from the other side of the world.

Tom Hughes’ paintings begin in these spaces.

He spends time in botanical gardens, arboretums, and the wilder corners of curated estates, drawn to the areas where foreign plants have taken root in our climate and become part of a uniquely British ecology. At first glance, these scenes can look lush, dense, and almost tropical. But they are British, woven into our landscape and shaped by our weather.

Drawing on the tradition of botanical collecting and horticultural exploration, Tom presents a contemporary vision of nature in Britain: one shaped by history, climate, and a deep cultural fascination with the exotic. His paintings invite close inspection, revealing intricate layers of growth, light, and interconnected forms.

In his own words:

I want to create a portal that immediately transports you back to the source of my inspiration. I want you feel like you can touch the leaves, smell the air and step through the painting into another world. I work at various scales and distances, but always strive to capture the raw essence of a scene - be it a distant view, a cluttered interior or the incredible complexity of nature.

The foundation of my work has always been painting on location (en plein air). I have spent thousands of hours painting from life, honing my skills and learning how to see, It’s an essential part of my practice and provides me with a deep sense of connection to the world. I also gather visual information in the field which I use back in the studio in combination with oil sketches to work up ideas on a larger scale.