Sarah Bee PS

Statement

My work has always been informed by nature. I am constantly inspired by the visual commotion of the landscape, and in my paintings, I strive to capture this interplay of light, atmosphere and texture. The combined effect is sometimes subtle, sometimes dramatic – and all too easy to miss if you don’t take time to really look.

Ultimately, it’s the challenge of portraying the various juxtapositions of the natural world, which gets me into the studio each day; the scratchiness of undergrowth next to a flat expanse of sea, or the gnarly trunk of a tree against a brooding sky.

Alongside acrylic painting, I developed a mixed media approach when I was introduced to soft pastels whilst painting with the Blockley group.

I have found that a layered combination of materials - gesso, acrylic paint, and finally, pastel and charcoal – allows me to give my work depth, but also facilitates the kind of energetic, expressive mark making that I’ve always been drawn to.

It’s a process that’s always evolving, and often challenging – but I hope to keep learning as long as I’m painting.

I generally work in the studio from copious sketches and notes gleaned on location. I find this helps me to paint the essence of what I’ve seen and felt, without the distraction of extraneous information.

Really, that’s what painting is for me. Capturing the heart of that moment of seeing - distilled, perhaps heightened, and above all – alive.

Bio

BA in Graphic Design, Maidstone College of Art, Kent.

Sarah worked as a graphic designer at The National Magazine Company before later working as a body painter and makeup artist in commercial photography and film. She studied painting at Heatherleys School of Fine Art, London and painted with the Blockley Group.

In 2005, Sarah was elected to The Pastel Society. She is currently based in Devon, UK.