LIGHT OVER LAND: Sarah Woods | Floor 1

5 - 30 June 2021
Overview

Throughout June Circle are showing a selection of paintings and etching prints by Sarah Woods which are inspired by dusk and dawn along the coast.

Sarah Woods is a painter and printmaker who works from her studio in Newlyn, Cornwall where she has built her life around the coast since graduating from Falmouth School of Art in 2016. Sarah moved to work from one of the Porthmeor Studios at Trewarveneth where she found a connection between the space, its natural surroundings and her practice which includes painting, drawing, etching and printmaking. 

 

Sarah’s traditional approach to painting focuses on materiality and form. With hand-sewn canvases and minimal observations, she creates an impression of the coast that balances the lines of the horizon with shapes in the land. Whilst at art school, Sarah found inspiration in the work of Japanese printmaking and ceramic artists, Yoon Young Hur and Akiko Hirai, and was influenced by the writings and work of American abstract artist Agnes Martin, who once said: “Nature is like parting a curtain, you go into it ... My paintings are about merging, about formlessness.” Like Martin, Sarah began to define her work through the process of mark making, often focusing on the notion of repeating a single mark.

 

Echoing the structure of printmaking, by hand she repeats a single mark to create something gentle and considered. The precise and well considered drawings are simplified by focusing on tones and shapes that are often abstract, while lines in her etchings signify a meditative quality. “When working with a plate, my practice of printmaking focuses on the movement of ink and the direction of hand-drawn lines, becoming familiar with the marks unique to each piece” . Each print begins with a sketchbook - a pencildrawing that is gradually worked into an etching, then printed as a limited edition in her studio. 

 

The intuitive process of artistry is often seen in Sarah’s work, having learned the way materials work together, she understands traditional techniques and, through a methodical process of observing, drawing and making, uses this craftmanship to complement her contemporary practice. Her mesmeric pieces reflect the internal balance that being beside the water brings -  a still, calm and rhythmic feeling. 

 

Works
  • Sarah Woods, Soft Light over Newlyn, 2021
    Sarah Woods, Soft Light over Newlyn, 2021
  • Sarah Woods, Evening at Cot Valley, 2021
    Sarah Woods, Evening at Cot Valley, 2021
  • Sarah Woods, High Tide, Newlyn, 2021
    Sarah Woods, High Tide, Newlyn, 2021
  • Sarah Woods, From Rosewell Hill, 2021
    Sarah Woods, From Rosewell Hill, 2021
  • Sarah Woods, Porthmeor Cove, 2021
    Sarah Woods, Porthmeor Cove, 2021
  • Sarah Woods, Study from Porthmeor, 2021
    Sarah Woods, Study from Porthmeor, 2021
  • Sarah Woods, Morning, Porthmeor, 2021
    Sarah Woods, Morning, Porthmeor, 2021
  • Sarah Woods, Looking across to St Ives, 2021
    Sarah Woods, Looking across to St Ives, 2021
  • Sarah Woods, Along the North Coast, St Agnes, 2021
    Sarah Woods, Along the North Coast, St Agnes, 2021
  • Sarah Woods, From Sennen at High Tide , 2021
    Sarah Woods, From Sennen at High Tide , 2021
  • Sarah Woods, From Porthcurno to Pedn Vounder , 2020
    Sarah Woods, From Porthcurno to Pedn Vounder , 2020
  • Sarah Woods, An Evening at Gwenver , 2021
    Sarah Woods, An Evening at Gwenver , 2021
  • Sarah Woods, Last Light, Porthcurno , 2020
    Sarah Woods, Last Light, Porthcurno , 2020
  • Sarah Woods, Sennen from the Cliffs, 2021
    Sarah Woods, Sennen from the Cliffs, 2021
  • Sarah Woods, From Porthcurno, 2021
    Sarah Woods, From Porthcurno, 2021
  • Sarah Woods, Pedn Vounder, 2020
    Sarah Woods, Pedn Vounder, 2020
  • Sarah Woods, Newlyn Morning , 2021
    Sarah Woods, Newlyn Morning , 2021
  • Sarah Woods Pedn Vounder Etching on somerset satin paper 10 x 6.5 cm Edition of 35
    Sarah Woods
    Pedn Vounder
    Etching on somerset satin paper
    10 x 6.5 cm
    Edition of 35
    Sarah Woods, Pedn Vounder
    £ 95.00
  • Sarah Woods, Sennen , 2021
    Sarah Woods, Sennen , 2021
Installation Views