Marshscapes
The marsh has become an ongoing painting series that I revisit regularly. The subject stays the same, but as my style and process evolves, so do the paintings.
For this iteration, I started with a particular location on Seabrook Island, SC (where I attended an artist retreat at St. Christopher). A couple of staff members told me to check out the crab dock for a good marsh view, so I scoped it out on a walk.
When I stepped out from under the live oaks, I could see the water winding through the marsh grass to meet the estuary, the trees that back up to the beach at the point (an adventure for another day) and the island beyond it.
I was fascinated by how similar, yet different, this marsh was to the marshes I paint at home in North Carolina. Both have their distinct, but classic characteristics — water, grass, sky — but this low-country coastline also sports palm trees for one, and it felt more wild. Probably because St. Christopher’s wetlands are undisturbed — nature is revered there, it’s studied, and I regarded it with a sense of awe and wonder!
I decided the crab dock would be a good painting spot, so I returned a couple of days later to create a small painting on-location at sunset (this time taking the dirt road, so I could easily transport my painting gear).
I created a study as the sun was setting and stayed to watch the sky as it swiftly changed colors, deepening into twilight. Little did I know, this evening would light a fire in my soul, inspiring an entire collection of paintings!
I was so enthralled by that evening and my little study, that I spread out all of my big canvases the next day to start mapping out marshscapes!
The colors sang to me, and I worked on all of the canvases at once (hopping between them) for the remainder of my time at St. Christopher. Then I packed everything up and brought them home to continue working on them at my studio.
While the beginning of the process felt like it flowed quicker with initial layers comprising large swashes of color; at home, the next steps felt more slow and deliberate. More staring, contemplating and deciding what each piece needed to feel whole — the details.
As I type this, I’m sitting on the blue couch in the studio, with Rosie (my sweet golden retriever) snoozing next to me. This collection is complete, and the paintings are hanging in front of me. I can see how each one reached a natural conclusion, but not before going through several different stages and versions along the way. This work still has elements of a past me and past marsh paintings, but with time and experience, they’ve arrived somewhere entirely new. I think that’s what I love so much about painting. There is always more to discover and somewhere new to arrive that you can’t even imagine, yet!
Email subscribers will receive a preview on Monday, March 9, at 10 a.m. EST, with the opportunity to reserve a painting early.
Marshscapes will be publicly available to shop online at www.sarahjanetart.com on Friday, March 13, at 10 a.m. EST.
To celebrate, I will be hosting an Open Studio on Friday, March 13, from 5–8 p.m. EST. View and shop the work in-person; plus tour my home art studio, including the new upstairs print studio!
Drinks and snacks will be provided, so bring a friend! The address is 1604 Crows Landing Cir. Wilmington, NC, 28403. You can park on Crows Landing Circle or on Cavalier Drive. See you then!
