Sarah du Feu
Kentmere Horseshoe
Original monoprint
Image size 40 x 50cm
Mounted size 53 x 65cm
Unframed
Printed on acid free Somerset Velvet 280gsm paper
Please note that insitu images are purely an indication of how a piece may look.
This monoprint was inspired by the beautiful Kentmere Horeshoe in the Lake District. As a child Sarah visited this area of Cumbria on frequent occasions as she had an aunt and uncle who owned a hotel in the area. Sarah and her husband have walked the Kentmere Horseshoe on a number of occasions, mostly doing recce’s for her husband who has run the fell race there. The mountains of the Lake District hold a special place in Sarah’s heart and she continues to visit as often as she can.
The palette of the Lake District landscape changes with the seasons from the bright greens of Spring to the vibrant reds and browns as the bracken changes colour at the end of the summer.
For this print, Sarah has put a base screen print down, printed in a blend of colours, before starting the process of adding the layers. The next layers are added using stencils, oil based ink and a large piece of lino. The stencils are cut carefully to follow the natural contours of the land and the sea. They are added slowly, sometimes over several days and weeks to allow for drying time. Colours are chosen carefully, building up a rich, textural surface, out of a palette consistent across a lot of Sarah’s work.
Although Sarah’s monoprints tend to be printed in groups of three or four, each print is unique, as she uses different stencils and slightly different colours for each one.
Size: H:55 cm x W:63 cm
Sarah du Feu, artist, is available for sale online and in our art gallery at Wychwood Art. Sarah is a Yorkshire based artist and printmaker and takes inspiration from the landscape around her in Yorkshire, as well as the fells in Cumbria, and a small stretch of the North Cornwall Coastline, a place that has been a haven and retreat for the last 30 years. The landscape there is constantly changing between visits. The weather and the sea alter the geography of the beaches, erode the rocks and play tricks with the colours.
I have tried to record the physicality of some of these changes in my prints. They are an emotional response to these ever-shifting landscapes.”
The weather in Yorkshire and Cumbria can alter a landscape in the blink of an eye, from dreary greys to warm earth tones, through to vibrant oranges, greens and blues, with a quality of light that seems to have come straight from the heavens.
Sarah’s prints are built up in layers of ink, creating depth and texture. Although the prints have a deceptively simple and serene composition, they are complex, multi-staged works.
The monoprints are made using cut out newsprint stencils, lino, and layers and layers of inking. These prints can take weeks to make as drying times are necessary between layers. The screen prints are built up layer by layer, sometimes up to 20 or 30 layers per print. They are made in small editions of 4 or 5.
Both the landscape and still life works are studies in the relationships between the key elements of form, composition and colour. Sarah sees the still life prints as a form of landscape.
Sarah started life as a midwife, but after needing a change in the early 90’s, studied printmaking at Leeds Beckett University and continues to teach printmaking there now.
She has exhibited extensively in galleries around the UK, from Scotland to Cornwall.
To discuss any of Sarah du Feu's works for sale please call 07799535765 or email deborah@wychwoodart.com
