Sarah Boulton

My work reflects my love of pattern and texture and the way I see, feel and experience the world around me.

I am drawn to the natural environment. My home in the bushland of Central Victoria is a powerful influence. The trees and wildflowers, creeks, hills, rocks and animals all find their way into my work and seasonal changes drive new explorations, particularly the abundance and vibrancy of Spring.

I’ve painted since childhood. My mother, who is also a painter, encouraged me to lead a creative life and I went on to study fine art at RMIT in Melbourne. Leaving the city in 2002 has had a profound impact on my work. I’ve felt free here to experiment and my painting has become gradually more abstract.

I create using ink and acrylics, building rich layers of texture, with metallic paint, gold leaf and spray paint adding depth and contrast. Every mark has meaning. My work develops organically, sometimes I have an idea before I start, but generally I like to work in a less restricted way and let a piece flow naturally.

I like my paintings to be beautiful, for people to find beauty in them and for them to elicit a personal, emotional response. The fact that this response may be different to the feelings I had creating the work excites me. It’s one of the joys of the abstract form, when a painting has the ability to take a viewer on a journey entirely their own.

Sarah’s most recent exhibition at The Hive was Heartland in 2022