If you’ve spent any time on New Hampshire’s Seacoast, you know it’s more than just beaches and lobster rolls. Look a little closer and you’ll notice something else—art is everywhere.
From the side of a downtown warehouse to a pottery studio tucked behind a garden fence, creativity runs quietly through this coastal stretch.
Unlike big city galleries, Seacoast art isn’t about flash or prestige. It’s grounded, often handmade, and deeply tied to the people who live here. These five artists aren’t chasing headlines—they’re making work that resonates locally. And that’s what makes their stories worth sharing.
1. Maya Jensen – Storytelling with Salvaged Materials (Portsmouth)
Maya’s art starts with what most of us would walk past—driftwood, torn book pages, rusted hinges. She collects them from places like Odiorne Point or Wallis Sands, then layers them into thoughtful collages.
Each piece tells a quiet story, often referencing local folklore or the changing tides of the coastline.
She doesn’t use social media much, but her work pops up at Portsmouth’s Art Round Town and occasionally at 3S Artspace. What draws people in isn’t just texture—it’s memory. Maya says, “I don’t want to make something new. I want to give what’s old another voice.”
2. Andre “Dre” Malone – Painting People Who Live Here (Dover)
If you live in Dover, you’ve probably seen one of Dre’s murals—huge faces that feel familiar even if you don’t know the person. His art is loud in color but quiet in feeling, often showing emotion without words.
Dre didn’t go to art school. He started tagging walls as a teen, then taught himself to work with brushes and canvas. “Spray paint was the first thing that made me feel in control,” he says.
Now, he gets commissions from cafes, local bands, even the city. His most famous piece? A three-story mural of a café barista he once overheard giving life advice to a teenager.
3. Lily Tran – Turning Light into Landscape (Exeter)
Lily’s watercolor paintings aren’t what you’d expect. They’re not soft, pretty views—they’re moody, windswept, full of movement. “I’m trying to paint the air,” she once told a customer at a pop-up market.
She often sketches outdoors along the Squamscott River, then finishes pieces in her shared studio space near downtown Exeter. Her work is sold through Seacoast Made and The Willow.
Collectors like her art because it feels personal. Locals love it because they recognize the places—rain over Great Bay, fog above Portsmouth Harbor. She doesn’t paint what you see on postcards. She paints what it feels like to live here.
4. Ben Ruiz – Structured Silence (Kittery / Seacoast)
Ben is an architect by training, which explains the precision in his art. His work looks minimal at first glance—black lines, empty space, sharp shapes—but the more you look, the more it reveals.
He says his inspiration comes from watching how buildings age: “I love when materials start to break down. Cracks are honest.” His pieces often mimic building layouts or city grids, but stripped down to emotion.
Ben exhibits frequently in Portsmouth and Kittery. While some of his work sells to collectors, much of it is meant to stay in public view. Recently, he installed a series of small abstract metal pieces in a Seacoast bus shelter.
5. Emma Rhodes – Everyday Ceramics That Speak Softly (Newmarket)
Emma’s pottery studio is a converted greenhouse at the edge of her yard. She teaches workshops twice a month, but mostly just throws clay while her dog naps at her feet.
Her pieces are simple—bowls, cups, candle holders—but all hand-carved with quiet details: waves, rooftops, trees bending in wind. One mug might tell a story of an old farmhouse; another could show a child and a kite.
She rarely sells online. Instead, you’ll find her at Newmarket’s monthly Maker Market or the holiday pop-up at Prescott Park. Her customers often say the same thing: “Her work feels like home.”
Final Thoughts
What ties these artists together isn’t style, medium, or popularity—it’s place. They make art that could only exist here, shaped by local weather, memory, and community.
So next time you’re in Portsmouth, Dover, or any town along the Seacoast, take a detour. Step into that tiny gallery, say yes to the open studio tour, or just look up—there might be a story painted on the wall above you.
Art isn’t always in museums. Sometimes, it’s down the street—quietly changing how we see the world around us.
