Stop & Chat

Sarah Woods

West Cornwall-based artist Sarah Woods’ tranquil paintings of her local coastline are anchored in a deep connection to land and sea – making them a natural fit for the land&water gift set packaging we created last year.

Portrait by Nick Pumphrey

I’ve been based in West Cornwall for a little over five years after moving here to study BA (Hons) Fine Art. I’m currently working from my studio in Newlyn, which is a grounding, serene space that allows a state of flow from the coast to the studio. My creative journey began with a draw to the coastline, gathering inspiration from the landscape and often seeking quiet spaces along the coast – translating this through paint and canvas in the studio. To me, painting is an intimate process. Absorbing the colour, light and form in the landscape and using a language of paint to share the beauty in something I see and feel.

It’s inspiring to think of the artists who have been drawn to this landscape and responded in many ways. Like Barbara Hepworth’s natural sculpted forms and Wilhelmina Barnes-Graham’s linear drawings and paintings. There’s something special about working from the furthest edge of the land, and I find I’m endlessly drawn to a simplicity of process. I also adore the work and writings of Agnes Martin and Georgia O’Keeffe.

Autumn Hues Along the North Coast

land&water Body Duo

The piece we chose for the land&water collaboration is a simple and meditative painting drawn from the calm of a moving tide. This resonates so perfectly with a feeling of balance and connection gathered from the coastline. Bringing together natural essential oils to evoke the therapeutic time in the elements, and a seascape painted with the subtlest palette of cerulean blue and alabaster.

I really enjoy working on large scale paintings in the studio using either canvas or linen. My dream commission would probably be a series of large scale pieces on linen because I love the earthy tactility of this material, with balanced compositions of land and sea or dark blue seascapes with single, directional brushstrokes. Drawing on elemental movement, the light captured in a breaking tide, and a sense of calm in the spaces that are always in motion.