Settling into the wild rhythms of life in her new home on Cornwall’s west coast, artist Sarah Woods’ work resonates with her surroundings. With her evocative painting illustrating the boxes of land&water gift sets, we wanted to dive deeper into Sarah’s approach and inspirations. Taking time out of her studio day, Sarah reflects on the meditative nature of her painting process, how the flux and flow of changing seasons influence her art, and her upcoming show in St Ives…
I’ve always been drawn to the edge of the land. When I was younger, we moved around a lot, and I was curious about living somewhere unfamiliar and a little further away. Studying in Falmouth, I realised I could balance my time between painting and being outside beside the ocean. This meant spending a lot of time exploring the coastline, learning from my surroundings and gathering inspiration.
The seasons influence everything about my practice. I recently moved to the west coast of Cornwall, where it’s wild and beautiful. In winter, it’s the quietest and most elemental, with no sound other than nature; and in summer, everything is dry, sandy and sun-bleached. The changing seasons are so clear, and my work is really connected to this flux and flow – living slowly by the seasons, intuitive with the pace of nature.
I notice spring with the wild violets, the sun staying a little higher so it reaches the studio windows. The light moves differently across the water, brings more colour to the sky, and inspires my palettes to change. The signs of the changing seasons influence most of my movements in the studio. I feel at home in the landscape of west Cornwall – the timelessness of the land and sea is comforting.
The edges of the west coast of Cornwall are magical. Gwenver is one of my favourite places. It’s so beautiful and wild and lush and green. Also, the coastline between St Ives and Zennor has a spaciousness. It's like another world of hills, rocks, fields and water.
My working process in the studio is like a meditation as I reflect on the forms and colours I’ve observed and visualise how my brush will move across the canvas. My mind quietens, focusing on my movements and the materials I’m working with.
I work with acrylic paints and slowly mix my palettes for each collection, moving between shades that resonate with the stillness and motion found along the coastline. Recent works draw inspiration from a palette of deep earthy tones gathered from the movement of the ocean and the grounding nature of the land. The relationship between the materials I use and my approach to painting brings together a simple aesthetic.
I paint on canvas and linen, as both materials have a tactility that I love. Canvas has a natural brightness, whereas linen is slubby and earthy, rich in natural texture, tone and warmth, which really comes through in a painting. I enjoy how the surface of each piece has a flatness, with small areas of this surface showing between paint – at the edge of a brush stroke, for example – showing the movement of my hand and bringing forward the painting process, which is otherwise unseen.
The studio is my serene space – an extension of how it feels to be within the landscape, gathering observations and inspiration. This energy flows purely into my work, as my paintings often have a sense of calm or look a little minimal. Really, I’m painting a feeling of my observations and the simplicity of time in these environments.
“My working process in the studio is like a meditation as I reflect on the forms and colours I’ve observed and visualise how my brush will move across the canvas.”
As a child, I was always outside and preferred to be in nature than indoors. My grandparents had the loveliest garden, and the fields surrounding their house were full of wildflowers and grasses, almost like meadows. I have a lot of the happiest memories there. Everything about nature feels familiar to me – always bare feet, feeling the earth, feeling the textures, looking closely at everything.
For me, yoga, running and swimming bring balance. I love a sunrise swim in the Atlantic for coldwater immersion or diving into a tidal pool hidden between coves along the coast.
I’m currently working on large-scale paintings capturing darker hues from the west coast. I’m really enjoying compositions balanced by light reflections across the water and the richness of deeper tones in my latest palettes.
My newest works are studies of movement in the landscape, and I’m focusing on how my process translates this through brush strokes and paint. Working on a large scale means my body moves around the piece, either painting the canvas on the floor or the wall, so I’m aware of my intuitive movements and how a particular gesture can really give the feeling of stillness or motion.
I have a spring show coming up at the New Craftsman Gallery in St Ives, opening 3 May, which will showcase some of my larger works and new colour palettes.
Explore our Gift collection featuring Sarah's artwork on our limited edition gift boxes.
Discover more of Sarah's work at sarah-woods.co.uk
Follow Sarah on Instagram
Let Sarah walk you through a few selects from her portfolio in our first land&water Journal introduction to her work.
