Sarah writes – “My painting is an expression of my love of the land here in West Penwith, a connection with the beauty and power of the landscape. The paintings are all in oils on board, except some new work with oil on canvas, and are realistic & representational landscapes of West Cornwall, but not in an entirely photographic way; they are hyper-real, or more than real.
I aim to express the magic or earth energy; the essence, or resonance of a place such as a stone or a tree. I look for the symmetries & similarities of patterns, the inherent fractals of growth & movement, and emphasise these.
For the paintings to have a strong visual & emotional impact, I paint with great detail & in a heightened and intensified manner. I love the qualities of oil paint, which enable me to build up complex layers of colour and texture, combining classic technical methods of “thin to fat & dark to light”, with Pre-Raphaelite painting techniques of layers of thin translucent glazes on a brilliant white ground.
Inspiration
My inspiration comes from my love of the natural beauty & power of this landscape, a love and connection which is informed by my beliefs. For me, everything in the world is connected in a great web of spirit, or soul, which is the Divine. The closer you are to the elements, to the wild & natural land, the more this Spirit manifests, and especially so in Cornwall – many people say they can feel the power & magic of the land getting stronger the further west they come.
I look for the glimpses of the Animate Landscape – the Genius Loci, Spirits of the Land, or personality of a place, and try to create images to show this to others. Often this animate landscape reveals itself in faces and forms which remind us of human features, which personalizes it and gives us more connection to it, so many of my paintings have rocks or trees with faces, or have shapes which are like people or creatures. But whether I am painting smiley rocks, ancient sites or beautiful sunsets, it is all manifestations of the Divine in the landscape, and is about the Soul’s response to beauty.”
‘The Perfect Moment’
My paintings are also an attempt to capture “The Perfect Moment” – when a landscape is looking at its most interesting, in whatever way that manifests – the best view, or best direction of light, time of day or season or weather.
Often, places seem to say “paint me looking like this”, or, “paint me but not in these clothes, wait until I have spring flowers”. I pay attention to this just as portrait painters would to their sitters.
There are several places and views that I have not yet painted because, as yet, I have not seen it at the right “Perfect Moment”. In addition, there are some places where the defining features can be seen and felt by looking all around with one’s eyes and senses but which do not fit together neatly into a single frame, so in a few cases I use my artists licence to make subtle changes. For example, in “Foxgloves and Campions at Cape Cornwall” the bank of flowers on the edge of the track is shown, as is some of the view down into the cove, whereas in reality you need to step up slightly onto the bank to see this view – the painting would be less interesting, and less true of the place if either of these elements were missing.
I love the qualities of oil paint, which enable me to build up complex layers of colour and texture, combining classic technical methods of “thin to fat & dark to light”, with Pre-Raphaelite painting techniques of layers of thin translucent glazes on a brilliant white ground.
Studio
My studio is perfect, as it is light and bright, with a view directly west over the sea. On a clear day I can see the Isles of Scilly, and I have a ringside view of all our wonderful sunsets. My garden is also perfect; a quiet little sanctuary with goldfish and waterfall.”
