Oud Painting

Lois Gardner Sabet is originally from the USA and now lives and works in Nottingham, UK. She is based in a studio at the artist-led space, Backlit Gallery. She has an established practice as an abstract artist working with watercolor paint on large-scale papers. She saturates the paper with multiple layers of luminous color to create a sense of non-material space, wtih the illusion of a woven artifact. She is interested in how the language of textile crafts and processes are used as metaphors, and how she can translate these metaphors into two-dimensional artworks. She uses fine, traditional Japanese papers called "washi" , which can resemble silk, as well as thick handmade Indian khadi papers. Lois works with various drawing media. She makes layered, large-scale drawings on Fabriano paper using a pencil and an eraser. These drawings are a result of her abiding interest in the energies and resulting shapes of geological and biological processes. She has also recently revived a practice using India ink on paper. She applies the ink with Japanese brushes, and also surgical scrub brushes - a legacy of a stint working in a Boston hospital. The drawings are made with quick gestural strokes that sometimes bring to mind Rorschach inkblot tests. She leaves these drawings untitled. Lois has exhibited widely in the area including group shows at Djanogoly Gallery for the University Summer Exhibition, Tarpey Gallery for The Midlands Open, Harley Gallery, The Old Lock-Up Gallery, New Walk Museum, Syson Gallery, the Nottingham Society of Artists Gallery , Backlit Gallery and The Sunday Times Watercolour Competition. She has had solo exhibitions at Lakeside Arts' Wallner Gallery and the Nottingham Society of Artists Gallery. She is the Artist Advisor for the Lady Bay Arts Festival and is a curator and exhibitor for the public spaces. Lois draws inspiration from divers sources including the work of artists Agnes Martin, Howard Hodgkin and Sean Scully. She is interested in the arts, crafts and calligraphy of the islamic world and the early 20th century Amish quilts of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.