Sara Habgood

Sara Habgood has been working as a successful professional artist for the last 15 years and her paintings have featured on BBC TV. A Fine Art graduate from the prestigious Goldsmiths’ College, University of London (with famous contemporaries and alumni include Damien Hurst, Sarah Lucas, Angus Fairhurst and Gary Hume), her work has elicited much admiration from distinguished critics, interior designers, academics and art collectors alike.

 

The body of work falls into four categories - though distinctive from one another, each informs and influences the other, so there is a play between the more figurative and the purely abstract. This, the artist explains, allows the work to have a dynamism and energy and keeps her practice alive and interesting. The overarching characterisation of all the work is its joyful stylish elegance and sophistication in texture and form.
 

Her first solo exhibition was at the Chelsea Gallery and resulted in a feature in The Guardian newspaper. She has continued to exhibit with Carina Haslam in group exhibitions throughout the UK and abroad, including shows such as AAF (London, Hong Kong, Singapore and New York) and 20/21 International Art Fair at the Royal College.
 

The pieces are made on canvas, aluminium or birch panel in a variety of media (oil, acrylic, graphite, metal leaf, gilding waxes etc.). Many pieces are finished in epoxy resin – giving a super glossy, glass like surface. The resin also acts as a uv barrier which protects the painting from fading and also makes them (unusually for fine art) resilient and therefore suitable for a variety of design schemes and environments.
 

These stunning and sophisticated, contemporary pieces are equally shown off in offices, hotels, restaurants, bars and the home.

 

Famous client:  

Most recently bought for the prestigious ‘THAT GROUP’ developers as show case work in their HILTON HOTEL DEVELOPMENT in Bournemouth in the penthouse apartment. 

 

MID CENTURY MODERN and ABSTRACT STRIPE PAINTINGS: 

I have recently embarked on a new series of paintings which could be described as ‘mid century modern‘ but with contemporary feel. I was interested in working back to my earliest inspiration when I was studying Fine Art and History of Art at Goldsmiths’College, and that is the artist Ben Nicholson, and particularly the period of his work starting from 1950. Nicholson was known for creating a rough surface ground before commencing. In the same way, I have experimented in using a textural ground, overlaying several layers of paint and sometimes scraping the surface. This allows echoes of previous underlying colour, markmaking and line to interplay with the evolving painting. Working in this way creates a more sculptural and 3D quality to the painting. Shapes are suggested by both landscape and still life forms. Jazz music is a real passion (a frequent background friend in my studio) and the way these pieces play in shape and form echo classical and modern jazz rhythms. 

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The Abstract Stripe paintings are my interpretation of a symphony. Some years ago I started listening to Radio 3 in my studio while I work. Each painting starts with an underlying 'melody’ and gradually evolves and transforms through each ‘movement' as I add layers and textures echoing back to the original melody. I hope to convey both the energy and subtlety of my favourite pieces of music in them.
 
DRAGONFLY PAINTINGS: 

I began to experiment with different media some years ago and was attracted to metal leaf and it’s beautiful luxurious qualities. As I watched dancing dragonflies over the Mill Pond next to my studio, it struck me that using metal leaf could possibly capture some of the ephemeral quality of their translucent, shimmering wings. Dragonflies have a talismanic quality for many, which is of course a beguiling subject for any artist.
 
BIRCH TREE PAINTINGS: 

With my ever evolving series of Birch tree paintings I have tried to capture the changing light and seasons around my home in Kent. Be it at dawn in springtime, or dusk in autumn, walking my dog or cycling around the lanes - being in the countryside is my first love and is balm for the soul and important for stilling the mind. The silver leaf incorporated in the paintings (an obvious choice!) changes appearance depending on the light source, which gives the painting a ‘living’ quality.

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GILDED PANELS: 

My gilded panel paintings are created over several weeks - layering media including bole pigment, gilding waxes and lustrous gold and silver metal leaf. They are finished in a high gloss epoxy resin which protects the delicate surface and adds luminosity and depth to the painting. These intricate, elegant pieces have a calm, meditative quality.