Shifting Edges Exhibition Catalogue

Shifting Edges by contemporary Welsh landscape artist

Sarah Jane Brown

There is something about being immersed in the vastness of the landscape that gives clarity and focus to the space within.

Sarah Jane Brown

Shifting Edges

A sensitive and expressive artist, Sarah Jane specialises in painting landscapes influenced by personal experiences walking the Pembrokeshire coast. This new body of work explores the subtle shades and undercurrents of feeling caught up within the anticipation of change. Through the endless restlessness of the seas, to the fluctuating atmosphere of the skies and the shifting edges inbetween, Sarah Jane captures in her paintings the emotional highs and lows, the sense of hesitation and hopefulness, those moments of both excitement and uncertainty that take place when wondering what might happen next.

While painting in preparation for her new exhibition after an eventful year, Sarah Jane became aware that she was dealing with the emotions that arise with facing change. Alongside the experience of painting for an audience at her recent Open Studio, the challenge of teaching workshops and producing several workshop articles for magazines, her art practice had also outgrown her home studio. She has since made the decision to take on a new larger studio that will provide an amazing space to paint and develop her practice, as well the chance to show her work and do more teaching.

"There is the sense that a chapter has come to a close, and that change is on the horizon. As I prepare to move into my new studio, I feel that my work is about to shift, I feel on the cusp of new things. Observing life on this constantly shifting ocean edge, and watching the ephemeral junctures of land, sea and sky, things appear to stay the same but really endless change is the one constant thing. My new exhibition 'Shifting Edges' reflects those feelings of uncertainty, suspense and exhilaration as I anticipate what is to come."

A different edge 24 x 30cm | oil on canvas board

A moment alone 24 x 30cm | oil on canvas board

All by itself 40 x 50cm | oil on canvas

Anticipation 35 x 45cm | oil on board

Approaching the shift 35 x 45cm | oil on canvas board

Black Rabbit, grey day 24 x 30cm | oil on canvas board

Circling 60 x 60cm | oil on canvas

Endless change 60 x 90cm | oil on canvas

Feeling wintery 18 x 24cm | oil on canvas board

Finding the teacher 50 x 40cm | oil on canvas

Freeing up space 61 x 91cm | oil on canvas

Heading forwards 60 x 60cm | oil on canvas

Hopeful hesitation 50 x 50cm | oil on canvas

Makes my heart sing 60 x 60cm | oil on canvas

Newgale pool 18 x 24cm | oil on canvas board

No sleep here 60 x 70cm | oil on canvas

On the cusp 18 x 24cm | oil on canvas board

Positively poised 40 x 50cm | oil on canvas

Reflected 40 x 50cm | oil on canvas

Separation 60 x 60cm | oil on canvas

Sheltered 40 x 50cm | oil on canvas

Testing myself 60 x 60cm | oil on canvas

Time for a change 24 x 18cm | mixed media on canvas board

Uncertain suspense 30 x 40cm | oil on canvas

Waiting for change 50 x 40cm | oil on canvas

Where it feels right 50 x 50cm | oil on canvas

Winding down gently 60 x 60cm | oil on canvas

With Bluetits and Bells 60 x 60cm | oil on canvas

Wondering what's next 49 x 58cm | oil on board

The details don't matter, what matters is the feeling; the sound of the sea, the gulls, the wind, the smell of the salt in the air, the feel of the elements on your skin, and the thoughts that pass through your head when you're standing on a beach or a cliff top.

Sarah Jane Brown

Sarah Jane Brown

Sarah Jane Brown lives in the heart of the spectacular Pembrokeshire Coast National Park in West Wales, where her environment and earlier maritime career have instilled a deep affinity with the sea. Changing direction later in life, she studied Fine Art Painting at the West Wales School of the Arts gaining a first class honours degree. Since graduating, Sarah Jane's career as a professional artist has steadily gained momentum and recognition, and her work now attracts collectors from across the world.

An Associate Member (AGSA) of the Guild Society of Artists, Sarah Jane has exhibited widely across the UK, and recently enjoyed several international exhibitions. Notable highlights include exhibiting with the Royal Society of Marine Artists at London's Mall Galleries and the Royal Cambrian Academy in North Wales. Sarah Jane has also recently been invited to become a member of the Fine Art Trade Guild Committee.

Combining a mix of ‘old master’ and contemporary techniques, Sarah Jane's rich and expressive style uses a variety of methods; staining, glazing and blending in many layers, gradually building up thickness and texture. Paint is applied with brushes, knives, rags and sometimes fingers. It is painted, scraped, flicked, spattered and poured on, and sometimes off again, until the finished painting presents itself.

Conceptually her paintings are an outpouring of personal feeling and a strong sense of place. Whilst the works are not abstract, they are open to interpretation.

Many offer a duality, using the landscape metaphorically to describe thoughts and emotions.

www.sjbfineart.com