Inside the clifftop Jersey studio where 74-year-old local artist 'plugs into the universe' thanks to CI Group
For artist Susan Morton, inspiration begins with the view.
SAINT HELIER, Jersey, Nov. 11, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Perched on the edge of a cliff overlooking Jersey's coastline, the 74-year-old artist's glass-fronted studio is flooded with natural light and surrounded by the landscape that has shaped her work for more than two decades.
Moving to the island 22 years ago realised a long-held dream of living and painting beside the sea. Since then, Jersey's history, rugged shoreline and shifting colours have found their way onto her canvas.
More recently, Susan has embraced what she calls "intuitive painting", starting each piece without knowing exactly where it will lead and allowing the work to reveal itself along the way.
Rather than setting out to create a predetermined image, Susan describes the process as a dialogue between herself and the canvas, allowing the work to reveal itself as she paints.
She said: "When I approach a canvas with perhaps an idea, or often it will be through a dream, I will connect with the canvas with my hands, and then I just play about on the floor with paints. I go into another zone. It's like plugging into something else. It's plugging into the universe."
At the heart of Susan's work is a belief that art should be felt as much as seen. She explained: "There is an energy that comes off paintings. They can move you to tears.
"If I can bring the energy of love into a painting and touch people's hearts, that's what I'm trying to do."
For that reason, the space where she creates is more than simply a studio. It is part of the process itself - a place of stillness, light and connection that helps her access the intuitive state from which her work emerges.
She said: "My studio is like my church, my temple. It's a sacred place."
Challenges with the elements
At first glance, Susan's studio seems to provide the perfect setting for her creative practice.
She said: "An artist needs natural light. I certainly have enough light to paint. That's really very important."
Yet the very design features that made the studio so striking also presented practical difficulties. Jersey's increasingly warm summers, coupled with coastal winds and glare reflecting through the glass, could make the space challenging to work in.
The studio's original glass roof meant its temperature could fluctuate dramatically, making it uncomfortable to use during particularly warm or cold weather.
Susan's paintings rely on the intuition and the energy she believes exists within every canvas. But for years, the environment in which she painted was working against that creative flow.
She said: "When it was hot, it was very, very hot. And when it was cold, it was bitterly cold."
Even with underfloor heating and additional heaters, Susan remembers working in thermals during colder spells.
The unpredictable temperature controlled the amount of time Susan could spend in her studio producing work, but the problem wasn't limited to comfort. It could interfere with the process of painting itself.
Much of her recent work has involved acrylics and watercolours, which can dry quickly.
"You're trying to create an image and blend the paint, but in the heat, it starts drying almost as soon as the brush touches the canvas," she explained. "It can make the whole process much more challenging."
Extreme heat in summer and biting cold in winter interrupted the sense of immersion she sought whenever she stepped inside the studio.
Susan wasn't looking to change the character of the space. She wanted to preserve everything that inspired her about it - the natural light, the panoramic view and the feeling of being surrounded by Jersey's coastline - while creating an environment where she could comfortably spend longer creating.
The solution came in the form of CI Group's NASA-inspired insulation technology, designed to create a more consistent temperature throughout the year.
Drawing on the same heat-reflective principles developed during NASA's space programme, the system helps create a more balanced environment while preserving the glass-filled character of the studio she loves.
In less than a day, Susan's studio was transformed.
'More time to pause, paint, and take in the view'
Two years later, Susan says the greatest benefit is more time to spend in the place she loves most.
"Because the temperature doesn't change much, I can paint for much longer in comfort," she says.
"I'll go down there with a cup of tea and sit looking out at the bay. It's really the comfort value, as well as giving me more time to paint."
Creating intuitive art requires patience and reflection. Instead of battling fluctuating temperatures, Susan can now focus entirely on the canvas in front of her.
"You're living in an outside world, but you're not in the elements," she says.
The studio remains immersed in the changing light and moods of Jersey's coastline, but no longer at the mercy of them.
Today, visitors are often just as captivated by the studio as its owner. While it may currently be home to canvases and paintbrushes, she says it could just as easily be a place to read, listen to music or simply sit quietly overlooking the sea.
She said: "Everybody who comes says, 'Forget the house, just move in here'. Everybody wants to bring a bed down and sleep in there.
"It's definitely added to the value of the property too."
A new chapter at 74
Susan believes the most powerful paintings carry something deeper than the image itself.
Nearly 22 years after moving to Jersey in search of rocks, sea and natural light, Susan still finds inspiration in the landscape beyond her windows.
Looking out across the bay with a brush in her hand, she remains focused on the same goal that drives her intuitive paintings: creating art that carries energy, evokes emotion and connects with others.
And in the clifftop studio she calls her temple, she now has more time than ever to do exactly that.
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