For the Love of Stone – 25 Oil Paintings by Sarah Vivian
1st September to 29th September 2003
Camborne School of Mines Art Gallery
Trevenson Road, Pool, Redruth, Cornwall. Phone 01209 714866
Open Monday to Friday 9.00am to 5.00pm, closed Saturday & Sunday
Sarah’s painting is an expression & celebration of her love of the land especially the granite bones of the land. In West Cornwall, stone forms the landscape, & has shaped the history and the people too. Sarah’s own affinity with stone may be in the blood, due to her family’s history of involvement in mining. There are various “Vivian” connections to the area, Sarah’s Grandfather Dr AC Vivian M.A, A.R.S.M., D.Sc was at The School of Mines in the early 1900’s, and later wrote a widely-used textbook “Metallurgy for Engineers”, & an uncle was a mine captain at Geevor. So the Camborne School of Mines is a very appropriate venue, both for family associations & for the subject matter of the paintings.
The twenty five paintings in the exhibition all feature stone, mainly granite, in many different variations of texture, structure & coloration, and in many different forms. From cliff views to tiny rock pools, stone is truly loved in all its forms. As well as being accurate representations of stone, the paintings also try to express some of the innate spirit or life of stone – many cultures have believed that spirit exists in stones, & Cornish tales are full of such references.
The paintings are realistic, intensely detailed and very vivid. Sarah uses the Pre-Raphaelite painting techniques of translucent glazes on a brilliant white ground, combined with textural brush marks, to build up complex layers of colour & texture to achieve a heightened & intensified depiction of reality. She was lucky to have a solid grounding in technique from her tutor in fine art when she took her Education degree – Charles Wollaston had previously taught at the Slade.
After taking an Honours Degree in Education in 1975, with art and craft as the main subjects, Sarah set up a craft business in Devon as a weaver, which developed into a Textiles Gallery. Although she has painted occasionally over the years, it is only in the last few years she has been able to focus solely on painting.
In 1999 Sarah exhibited a couple of paintings in the large mixed group show “In the Path of the Shadow” at Porthcurno and Geevor, and her first Solo Exhibition was at Morvah in September 2001. This was highly successful, and all the large originals from that exhibition are now sold. Her original paintings are shown at Studio Seven in St Ives (previously Legend), Just Cornish in St Just and The Roundhouse in Sennen, and cards & prints are available widely. If you would like any further information please contact Sarah by phone on 01736 787522, or email vivianatfarwest@supanet.com. Thank you.