Ruth Mulvie is a British contemporary painter celebrated for her vivid colour palette, nostalgic themes, and dreamlike depictions of leisure and escapism. A graduate of the Glasgow School of Art, with additional training at Beaux-Arts de Paris, Mulvie’s work is rooted in memory and imagination. She paints sun-drenched lidos, retro hotels and lush, otherworldly scenes that blend the real with the surreal, often punctuated by personal symbolism and playful eccentricity.

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Mulvie’s paintings are instantly recognisable for their bold colour choices and layered compositions, combining a deep knowledge of art history with a distinctly modern edge. In 2025, she unveiled Endless Summer, a major solo exhibition at the iconic Saltdean Lido. The show, which received widespread attention including a feature on BBC News, was inspired by local memories and the joy of lido life, and further cemented her reputation for capturing the spirit of British leisure with style and wit.

“My work often explores the excitement of escape and the tension between the real and surreal. Each piece is filled with layered imagery and small narrative clues in dreamlike compositions that blend memory with imagination. Colour is at the heart of everything I create. I’m always looking for unexpected combinations and emotional resonance, finding the right hue to evoke a feeling. My use of colour is instinctive, expressive, and what makes a piece unmistakably mine.”

Old photographs are her initial inspiration for each new piece; a digital springboard atop which she dives into her latest delicious fantasy landscape. Mulvie’s colour choices yell and fizz. They quicken the heartbeat. Sherbet yellow next to candy pink or lime green beside turquoise, they all elevate the mood. In her paintings we are invited to join the most wonderful party. At the heart of Mulvie’s pieces is the palpable joyfulness in her response to colour. She is at her happiest when mixing and combining paint, waiting for the thrill of the perfect shade. For her, colour is emotion, colour is memory, colour is her favourite place to be, and we are all invited. There’s no place like it.