Shell Collection Painting

I work in a contemporary way using figurative, impressionistic, expressionist and conceptual styles to create my unique artworks. They are a combination of both paintings and sculpture and sometimes mixed media . There are elements of imaginative surrealism combined with real life experiences within them. I often utilize found objects such as reclaimed board from the coast to paint on that bear the patina scars of the sea's ebb and tide. As a multi-disciplined artist, I use a variety of mediums and media to make paintings and sculptural artworks. I like to paint in watercolour, synthetic polymer (acrylic) or oil on paper, canvas or board. I also create sculptures using natural or found objects. I live by the sea in South Wales and my work reflects the light and ambience there as well as referencing the UK coastline. Through exploring the beautiful Welsh coastline, the sea has become my central theme and inspiration for my paintings with its eternal ebb and flow as a constant fascination for me. Travel and visiting different places also inspires me and acts as a starting point for a lot of my work. I travel when I can, especially to surf coasts in Australia, where I document my experiences in my sketchbooks which are then used as reference for work in my studio at home. I studied Fine Art under British Artists Maggi Hamblin, David Hepher, Roger Ackling and Annabel Nicolson, all of which whose work I admire greatly. My other influences are Frida Kahlo, David Hockney, and Pierre Bonnard whose paintings tell a story about people and places. I also love the work of Leonardo Da Vinci, Sandro Botticelli, Gwen John, Andy Goldsworthy, Chris Drury as well as many others to numerous to mention! Each year, I enter the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition and my painting "A Polar Bear's Survival Plea" was exhibited in the 2022 show. See https://se.royalacademy.org.uk/2022/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&search%5Bquery%5D=Sara+Holden&button=