Are We There Yet?

Posted on April 22, 2022 by Sarahjhoskins

So, I did as planned (not as common as you’d think), and created a much larger version of a small painting. The original was 60 x 50 cm, the larger version is 120 x 100 cm; literally the largest canvas I can get up the stairs into my studio.

The two paintings together: ‘Widely Accepted’, 120 x 100 cm, and ‘Was it Worth it?’, 60 x 50 cm.

‘Widely Accepted’, acrylic on canvas, 120 x 100 cm.

I feel I have achieved what I set out to do. It’s not exactly the same as the original, I haven’t just made a scaled up copy. I am happy with it.

Now I am working on another scaled up painting, but this time I have allowed colour to take a more central role.

It is not going as smoothly. Perhaps foolishly, I am trying to translate a square painting onto a rectangular canvas. As a result, I am having to make changes to the composition. It is becoming a very different painting to the original. I think I’m ok with that. Will update when it’s finished.

The Post Painting Blues

Posted on March 4, 2022 by Sarahjhoskins

‘Catastrophic’, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 60 cm

When I have reached the end of my energy and focus, and I cannot paint anymore, I feel a deep emptiness. I have to wait patiently until I am replenished. In that space where I cannot work, I am grieving. I have been ejected from the place I need to be. I am without purpose. Knowing that I will paint again soon gives me no comfort. It takes enormous willpower not to turn to alcohol to fill this void. I understand how easy it is for an artist to become a drinker (the last thing I need is to be a slave to drink as well as painting). When the grief is too much, I will just continue painting anyway, push myself even further. I cannot bear to stop.

‘Downright’, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 60 cm

For me, painting is a compulsion. No, it is not relaxing, or therapeutic. It takes stamina to paint. Even so, it brings great joy. For every high, however, there is a low. To stop, would be to have no reason to live. Without it, I am lost.

‘Why The Hell Not?’, acrylic on canvas, 80x 60 cm

Where Have I Been?

Posted on February 23, 2022 by Sarahjhoskins

‘Prisoner’, February 2022, acrylic on canvas, 40 x 40 cm.

I discover that I’ve not posted anything here since May 2020. Since then I have mainly used Instagram to share my work. I’d be interested to know how you feel about social media, and the best way to share and promote work? Links to my social media accounts are below.

Just over a year ago, perhaps as a reaction to the strangeness of our current situation, my work changed. In a moment of fearlessness, a large comical nose appeared, and then an eye. My abstract paintings were now also absurd grotesques. They made me laugh.

‘Ghoulish’, February 2022, acrylic on canvas, 40 x 40 cm.

I have been working with a more monochromatic palette because I have been asked to do something quite large in ‘black and white with one dark colour‘. I’m normally partial to pinks, turquoise, and bright yellows (see painting at the bottom of this post). It’s proving a very productive exercise. It is always good to limit the possibilities, that’s when you have to make concise decisions. I do wonder if/how my work will be affected by this period of monochromatic discipline when I let the colour back in.

The painting below, was created in September of 2021. I have entered it into the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition because, why not. I won’t know until April if I’m through to the next round. It’s hard to get in, so we will see. I’ll let you know.