Her father taught her the fundamentals of painting and she became a close friend of Alfred Wallis (August 29^th) and Dod Procter (July 31^st).  Garstin was renowned for use of tones and colours to represent different temperatures. 

Described by Patrick Heron (February 20^th) as ‘the most important English impressionist painter’ Garstin concentrated on the scenery and the characters she encountered not just in Cornwall but also whilst travelling through Belgium, France and Italy as exemplified by ‘Small Trader’, pictured left.  Her first visits to France arose when she accompanied her father on cycling and painting tours. 

She came to public notice at an early age and her first exhibition at the Royal Academy of ‘The Chairmakers’ occurred in 1912, making her one of the youngest painters ever to exhibit at that institution.  The following year she was, again, requested to exhibit and this time she offered a much larger painting, ‘The Market Place at Gemene, Brittany’. Garstin was also commissioned to produce illustrations for ‘Punch’ and ‘The Tatler’ magazines.  

Garstin’s premier exhibition was her solo display of over sixty paintings at the Adams Gallery in Pall Mall where the highlights were her depictions of ‘Penzance Promenade’ and ‘Penzance Harbour’.