Sarah Lees

Born in Coventry, Sarah settled in Carmarthenshire where she studied Wildlife Illustration. She worked freelance for a number of years before getting a BA Hons followed by an MA. Sarah is now Programme Leader on Access to Art and Design at Carmarthen School of Art whilst continuing to paint and exhibit.

Sarah’s latest body of work focuses on the visual language of trees and hedgerows and how they fit into the agricultural landscape. She always paints on panel because she likes to pay close attention to surface detail, overpainting with delicate oil glazes to achieve depth. She also ‘works back’ with imprints and marks to give expression paying close attention to the finished surface of the paintings, which often have a burnished effect. These surfaces also show signs of manipulation with details scratched into the panel. Working en plein air is an essential element of her process, supporting and augmenting work produced in the studio. Sarah is also drawn to still life and abstraction with a modernist feel, which is a legacy of her upbringing in post-war Coventry.