Sarah Carvell discusses her masterful and moving new works

Stephen Price

There’s no mistaking the work of Sarah Carvell.

One of Wales’ leading artists and a once-in-a-generation talent, her territory is most often home turf, her milltir sgwar of Denbigh – the simple, the understated, the unmistakably Welsh.

The familiar, as seen through her eyes, becomes illuminated. Quiet scenes, rooftops, bare hills, Wales’ unrivalled rugged coast.

Sarah’s mastery of the palette knife is only rivalled by her mastery of colour. Translucence, snow, winter light, the morning sunlight on the sea, somehow Sarah has it bottled.

Sarah’s approval is wide, and widening – her talent carrying forward and enhancing upon a legacy of renowned Welsh artists including, of course, the great Kyffin Williams.

Sarah’s new show at Ffin y Parc Gallery, Llandudno brings together a collection of her most recent works – primarily landscapes honed and honoured in beautiful north Wales.

Showing alongside Luned Rhys Parri and Kate Pasvol, the exhibition is one of the strongest seen in Wales yet this year.

“Before the light changes”

Ralph at Ffin y Parc writes: “There is such a nimble feel to the work, catching the moment before the light changes, before the surface of the water breaks, before it rains…

“Her ability to catch the mood, and to capture the telling detail with such immediacy and economy is exhilarating. Working with her palette knife, and her affinity for colour, she is able to imbue the work with real drive and energy.

“Even under grey flat skies, out in bitter winds, her commitment and her pleasure at being there watching, seeing, is clear and captivating.

Discussing the exhibition featuring three of Wales’ leading artists, and proudly female ones at that, Sarah described it as a ‘triumph’.

She told Nation.Cymru: “Occasions like these are a celebration of our joint achievements punctuated in time. A body of work that has (more often than not) been produced in the isolation of our respective studios that now is out into the world.

She added: “I look forward to sharing the angst and the triumphs from concept to exhibition with two fellow artists. I have met Luned on a number of occasions and I really look forward to meeting Kate.

“I have the uttermost respect for both artists and their work and I think our combined work will complement each other well and will make for a great varied show.”

“Another world”

Inspirations are very varied in Sarah’s latest pieces. She shared: “I often paint the landscape around me here in the Vale Of Clwyd. The light is always the in inspiration whatever the season.

“This time there are a number of paintings of the landscape surrounding The Horseshoe Pass. This is a relatively new source of inspiration for me.

“I realise it has a spiritual resonance harking back to arriving in Wales as a 4 year old, when my family made the “big move” from Leicestershire.

“I remember my sense of astonishment seeing this dramatic landscape for the first time, it has never left me. I felt I had landed in another world let alone country.”

Sarah often sees a landscape that she feels compelled to paint as she drives around The Vale Of Clwyd, Hiraethog and towards The Llyn.

She told Nation.Cymru: “I often berate myself for not having a sketch book and pastels in the car as a permanence. Often these pockets of wonder are in places that are difficult to access, or at least find a safe place in which to stop!

“When I do find a safe place to park I capture the image by taking a photograph and even better, to sketch. Drawing is so important for the development of the painting later, my hand and mind remembers the shapes of the land.

“The immediate nature of the pastel sketch is echoed when the painting is started back in the studio. My preferred application is with a palette knife, applying the oil paint ‘wet on wet’ in thick overlaying bands and sweeps.some of the best effects are achieved by the angle and pressure of the palette knife.”

Challenge

Like the other artists in this outstanding exhibition, Sarah’s work has found itself in some prestigious locations, such as the National Library, not to mention the homes of collectors across the world.

She told us: “It is fairly unusual for me to come across my work in private homes, with the exception of family and friends. There is no better feeling than ‘happening upon’ one. It’s really interesting to see one of my paintings in its new home.

“Someone once told me that they had hung a painting that I had given them in her downstairs loo. When she saw my expression in reaction to what she had said, she said ‘don’t worry it’s my ‘good’ toilet… Or worse, someone that asked if I have a painting that matched their decor or the colour of their curtains.

“In stark contrast to that I am so grateful to have my work selected by The National Library in Aberystwyth for their permanent collection.

“There was no better day than that when I saw one of my painting hung next to JMW Turner in their exhibition of Welsh Landscapes.”

Like any artist from Wales, modesty is a given, and despite her ever-growing reputation and fan base, the ability to make a living as an artist isn’t one she ever takes for granted. And, like any creator, her discipline is her challenge, and one that keeps her always striving, always wanting to do better.

She shared: “Whenever I am introduced as a renowned artist I feel like crossing my fingers and touching wood.

“The nature of making a living through painting feels like a precarious existence. I always feel that it’s the painting that is currently on the easel that gives me personal validation.

“It’s always a challenge. Will it work? When it does (and it doesn’t every time), I think ok, let me try and do that again. I always feel that I want to do better, I don’t ever feel completely satisfied. I think that drives me forward to go into the studio and try again.”

She added: “There are always unexpected challenges and frustrations in the process. When a painting is concluded easily it’s something of a surprise.

“Kyffin Williams was always an inspiration when I started painting. His choice of subject and the perceived ease of his paint application seems so effective and second nature. I never met Kyffin Williams, but I would have loved to have a chat with him to about my work and about his work, he might have told me painting isn’t easy?”

Comfort in Wales’ bleakness

We couldn’t chat to Sarah without touching on colour, of course. She said: “When people ask me about colour I often say that I struggle with it. In my minds eye when I start a painting I think, I want this painting to be bright!’ But more often than not an atmosphere takes over with a tendency to ‘bluishness’.

“My overalls are a testament to my colour palette. The colours merge to a jadeish grey and this is the case every time. No reds and oranges there.

“Capturing a fleeting moment in the landscape and capturing it well, gives me a feeling of achievement and even excitement, it drives me forwards.

“The colours in water are something that I want to capture in an investigative way, so many colours in the depths, then shadows and brightness on the surface. That is something I need to work on.

“When I was a child, all I painted was skies, over and over in watercolour. There was a lot of sky to look at living on the side of a hill in Llannefydd.”

Ralph at Ffin y Parc, is another captivated by Sarah’s mastery of colour. He shared previously: “Sarah really knows how the paint works, how to catch the light now, the cloud-shadows moving in the distance and even the silence, with grace and economy; and paint responds- grateful and joyful, eager and eloquent.”

A creature of habit, or just someone content, at home, Sarah likes to go back to the same locations over and over again.

She said: “I’ve told my children that the A543 Hiraethog road from Denbigh to Pentrefoelas is my road! It is so wild and sparse at the same time. Unspoilt.

“The harshness of the elements there make the homes look like they are hunkering down from prevailing winds.

“There are barely any trees, save leaning Hawthorns which are shaped and shaved from west to east. It’s never better than when Eryri is in snow, a blue a shadowed outcrop beyond the undulating foreground land.

“There is a view there that I have painted on a number of times. Ty Tyrpeg or Tyrpeg Mynydd, the old turnpike cottage, small in this vast landscape.

“I always take this route when I’m heading to the Llyn or to Cricieth with a van full of paintings ready to be framed, It’s comforting.”

Heddwch

A career in the arts isn’t for the faint hearted. At odds with the need to be a recluse, to zone out, are the often unsolicited opinions that find their way to the artists – the criticism and the commercialisation.

A fight between the need to ‘mask’, to play to the public, when painting needs and wants to be the focus. Luckily, for Sarah, however, no one need guide her hand for that all important marriage between authentic and evolving art, and an ever-growing community of collectors.

Her eye, her oils, are consistently in demand, and while this exhibition plays out, Sarah’s overalls will continue to absorb new colour, and her wonder and excitement at capturing the fleeting moments of home will continue at pace.

She told us: “The one question that I find difficult to answer is “how long did this take to paint?’ I wonder if the person asking is equating pounds per hour.

“It would be tempting to say 61 years of looking has brought me to this moment. But in reality it IS hours of looking, choosing the view, drawing, discarding paintings that aren’t good enough, palettes of mixed and re-mixed colours. The actual cost of the materials alone would be eye watering and isn’t something that I care to dwell on.

“Often the ‘quicker’ gestural paintings can be the most successful. When I manage to gain closure or consider a painting finished it’s a good feeling.

“Sometimes they go unresolved for weeks, but when I do reach an ‘end’ to a piece, I feel a sense of peace and gratitude that makes it all worth while.

“I hope that it will resonate with someone out there, who might consider it good enough to pay for it.

“Casting that thought aside, I start again and place a new clean canvas on the easel.”

“Captivating”

Ralph from Ffin y Parc has been one of Sarah’s (and countless other artists from Wales) biggest champions, and his joy at bringing her work together with that of Luned and Kate’s is infectious.

He said: “Sarah’s new show brings us a collection of mostly north Wales landscapes. There is such a nimble feel to the work, catching the moment before the light changes, before the surface of the water breaks, before it rains…

“Her ability to catch the mood, and to capture the telling detail with such immediacy and economy is exhilarating. Working with her palette knife, and her affinity for colour, she is able to imbue the work with real drive and energy.

“Even under grey flat skies, out in bitter winds, her commitment and her pleasure at being there watching, seeing, is clear and captivating.”

Sarah’s work asks us to consider the beauty of our own square miles, the often overlooked majesty of Wales from Môn i Mynwy.

A collection of works that, one day, younger artists will dream of having work sit next to.

A triumph, indeed.

Sarah’s new works are available to view and purchase online now, or you can see them in person at Ffin y Parc until 26 July.