Sarah Jemmett

I took the decision in 2016 to leave my career in the financial sphere to pursue my passion for painting and drawing. I have been painting all my life and am predominantly an oil painter. I started to formally train with professional artists in 2012 and over a number of years, I have attended the Open College of Arts, the Cheltenham School of Fine Art and the London Lara Atelier art school. I am currently mentored weekly by internationally known artist Vicki Norman. I also love learning from Tom Shepherd and Andrew Tischler who are also exceptional artists and tutors. I have a studio in the garden of my home in the Cotswolds where I can be found some of the time painting, experimenting, and developing my work. I was born in Cornwall near Padstow and later bought up on a farm in North Devon. I am an out of doors person and I am very curious about my surroundings hence I continually find inspiration from the land, sea and sky. I travel quite a bit too which exposes me to different situations and landscapes. I can often be found in a hedgerow or field somewhere painting away in oils with my trusty ruck sack full of art goodies.

The most important thing for me is to find the inspiration for creating a piece of art and that is not always easy. I walk a lot and I am always open to that hit of inspiration which stops me in my tracks, it could be the light, the colour, reflections, cloud formations or the way a tree is bending to the water. When the painting has found me, I start by laying down a wash over the canvas and making an accurate drawing of what I want to portray. I am usually full of energy at this point and need to get down the colour and value areas fairly quickly working with brushes, palette knives and fingers. The light changes all the time when you are painting outside, it’s so challenging and completely absorbing. If I do not finish the painting “en plein air” then I will take it back to the studio to work on or I will pay another visit to the site if possible. I love to paint and make new discoveries by just doing.