The Momentum of Colour A series of landscape and seascape paintings that examine how colour can be a driving force in motivating thought and emotion throughout the process of painting.
By contemporary Welsh landscape artist
Sarah Jane Brown 2017
'The Momentum of Colour' explores my process, how colour drives my painting practice. Colour is such an emotive thing and conveying emotion is central to my work. In the studio I always start by laying down raw colour, and that is an intuitive process. I never really know where it is going to go. It's an intuitive exploration each time. With this body of work I was particularly mindful of colour, so inevitably in my decision-making process, each painting is made up of layers of miniscule decisions that affect the outcome. Sarah Jane Brown
The Momentum of Colour Sarah Jane Brown's new series of paintings examine how colour can be a driving force in motivating thought and emotion throughout the process of painting. Inspired by the diversity of colours found amongst the expressive skies, mercurial seas and rural landscapes of her home in Pembrokeshire, Sarah Jane's contemplative and responsive work explores her relationship with colour and the sensations awakened by her observations. 'I'm often drawn by colour to something; colour is compelling and can do something emotive. When I start to paint, I lay raw colour down on the canvas, allowing the colour to drive my thoughts and emotions, and from there the painting gathers momentum.' This new series of paintings expands upon her theme of awareness, presenting a thought-provoking and insightful portfolio of paintings.
A sense of achievement 50cm x 50cm | Oil on Canvas
A sense of purpose 40cm x 50cm | Oil on Canvas
Anticipating calm 18cm x 24cm | Oil on Canvas Board
Balanced 13cm x 18cm | Oil on Canvas
Between the heart and the spoken word 40cm x 50cm | Oil on Canvas
Bouncing back 30cm x 60cm | Oil on Canvas
Compassion fans 24cm x 30cm | Oil on Canvas Board
Compromise 18cm x 24cm | Oil on Canvas
Courageous neutrality 24cm x 30cm | Oil on Canvas
Curiosity 30cm x 30cm | Oil on Canvas Board
Doing my own thing 50cm x 50cm | Oil on Canvas
Elegant hope 30cm x 40cm | Oil on Canvas
Emotions runs deep 60cm x 90cm | Oil on Canvas
Faithful intuition 40cm x 50cm | Oil on Canvas
Flirtatious sky 50cm x 100cm | Oil on Canvas
Freeing the timid lover 50cm x 60cm | Oil on Canvas
Growth 13cm x 18cm | Oil on Canvas
Inspired 13cm x 18cm | Oil on Canvas
Instrument of change 24cm x 30cm | Oil on Canvas Board
Lone spirit 18cm x 24cm | Oil on Canvas Board
Making a decision 18cm x 24cm | Oil on Canvas Board
Momentum 60m x 70cm | Oil on Canvas
Nurturing the instinct 30cm x 30cm | Oil on Canvas Board
Open lines 30cm x 120cm | Oil on Canvas
Ophelia 30cm x 30cm | Oil on Canvas Board
Original thought 18cm x 24cm | Oil on Canvas Board
Passing through 24cm x 30cm | Oil on Canvas Board
Politely independent 30cm x 40cm | Oil on Canvas
Protecting creativity 30cm x 30cm | Oil on Canvas Board
Solemn inspiration 30cm x 30cm | Oil on Canvas Board
Speaking clearly 40cm x 50cm | Oil on Canvas
Tempered with a degree of defiance 18cm x 24cm | Oil on Canvas Board
The appetite for adventure 30cm x 30cm | Oil on Canvas Board
The question 30cm x 60cm | Oil on Canvas
Ultramarine pool 100cm x 160cm | Oil on Canvas
Vital foundation 30cm x 40cm | Oil on Canvas
Connecting with the space of being out in the landscape allows you to gain perspective; to be more aware of everything around you, to look both inward and outward whilst being in the present moment. Sarah Jane Brown
Colour studies on paper
'The Momentum of Colour' also introduces a new series of colour studies on paper, which display a broader ranger of influences from recent travels. The vistas are wholly incidental as this series is all about colour and the experience of being in the landscape, but their influences and inspirations filter through into Sarah Jane's work.
Colour Study | September No 1 17cm x 23cm | Oil on Paper
Colour Study | September No 2 14cm x 23cm | Oil on Paper
Colour Study | September No 3 10cm x 13cm | Oil on Paper
Colour Study | September No 4 10cm x 13cm | Oil on Paper
Colour Study | September No 5 9cm x 14cm | Oil on Paper
Colour Study | September No 6 9cm x 14cm | Oil on Paper
Colour Study | September No 7 9cm x 14cm | Oil on Paper
Colour Study | September No 8 9cm x 14cm | Oil on Paper
Colour Study | September No 9 10cm x 18cm | Oil on Paper
Colour Study | September No 10 10cm x 18cm | Oil on Paper
Colour Study | September No 11 18cm x 32cm | Oil on Paper
Colour Study | September No 12 18cm x 32cm | Oil on Paper
Colour Study | September No 13 13cm x 19cm | Oil on Paper
Colour Study | September No 14 13cm x 19cm | Oil on Paper
Colour Study | September No 15 13cm x 19cm | Oil on Paper
Colour Study | September No 16 13cm x 19cm | Oil on Paper
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. Sarah Jane has exhibited widely in the UK including several solo shows in Cardiff and numerous prestigious exhibitions in London, such as the Cork Street Open in Mayfair and with the Royal Society of Marine Artists at the Mall Galleries. She has exhibited as far afield as New York City, and her work is now collected internationally. Sarah Jane applies her knowledge of Old Master techniques with contemporary working practise. Her expressive style combines 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.
The landscape has an immense power to stir emotions in people. I think that's just a real human experience; when we're out in the landscape, it stirs something up. In the process of painting, I go through that range of emotions as well, and then I'm also mindful of the emotive response in the viewer of the end result. Emotion is what drives me because it is such a human thing. I'm trying to communicate something, and I want it to be meaningful to the person that views it. Sarah Jane Brown
www.sjbart.co.uk