Sarah Waghorn is a painter who likes to explore bushland, gardens and interiors.
The thread which ties them together is highlighted by the strong Australian daylight bathing the scene in a burst of colour and form. Her main medium is oil paint, though preliminary sketches are made in gouache or graphite.
Inspiration for her landscapes comes from the native plants and trees witnessed on walks around local and coastal bushland. It is the intimacy of the forms of flowers and leaves that draws her in rather than the expanse of a grand vista. Often large-scale forms are the key to the dynamism of her paintings and the expressive mark-making in her brushstrokes which add to their movement.
Inspiration for her interiors comes from her background growing up in Europe and being exposed to historical period architecture and intricate colour-filled rooms. She is inspired by classical features and old world charm. She loves to spend time fossicking in antique shops where artefacts speak volumes of past lives. She is also interested in the personalities of rooms created by those who reflect their taste upon those living spaces.
She has been a finalist in The Muswellbrook, Calleen, Waverley, Hawkesbury, Lethbridge Landscape and National Capital Art prizes, and shown in a number of group shows in regional NSW and Melbourne.
GROUP AND SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2023
‘Take me to a place I Cannot Go’ (solo) Grainger Gallery, Canberra ACT
Floriade Floral (group) Grainger Gallery ACT
The Affordable Art Fair SYDNEY - Greenbridge Gallery
2022
'Summer Show' (group) Twentytwentysix Gallery, Sydney NSW
'Harlequin' (group) Grainger Gallery, Canberra ACT
'Interconnected' (group) New England Regional Art Museum NSW
The Affordable Art Fair SYDNEY- Greenbridge Gallery
2021
Look Up (solo) Grainger Gallery, Canberra ACT
In The Frame (group) Sydney Road Gallery, Sydney NSW
2020
This Is Now (group) Grainger Gallery, Canberra ACT
The Vintage Collector (solo) Michael Reid, Murrurundi NSW
Passions and Places (group) BeBrave Artspace, Avalon NSW
A Timeless Moment (group) The Moree Gallery, NSW
2019
Spring Floral Collection KAB Gallery, Terrigal NSW
Studio Direct Group (group) Michael Reid, Murrurundi NSW
2018
Blossom and Bloom (group) Ladder Artspace, Kew Melbourne VIC
Contempo Kab (solo) KAB Gallery Terrigal NSW
The Elements (group) 220 Creative Space, Darlinghurst, Sydney NSW
The Other Art Fair SYDNEY
Long Hot Summer (group) BeBrave Artspace, Avalon NSW
2017
Charity Fundraiser MPN (group) Curated by Amber Creswell Bell
Garden Secrets (duo) Help Street, Chatswood
RESIDENCIES AND AWARDS
2022
Nancy Fairfax Artist in Residence
Tweed Regional Gallery, Murwillumbah NSW
FINALIST (Open Category) National Capital Art Prize Canberra ACT
FINALIST (Sustainable Category) National Capital Art Prize Canberra ACT
FINALIST Lethbridge Landscape Prize Brisbane QLD
2021
FINALIST National Capital Art Prize Canberra ACT
FINALIST Muswellbrook Art Prize Muswellbrook Regional Art Gallery, NSW
2020
FINALIST Calleen Art Award, Cowra Regional Art Gallery NSW
FINALIST Waverley Art Prize, Sydney NSW
FINALIST Lethbridge Small Scale Art Prize Brisbane QLD
2019
FINALIST Hawkesbury Art Prize Purple Noon Gallery NSW
FINALIST Little Things Art Prize, St Cloche Gallery Sydney NSW
FINALIST Lethbridge Small Scale Art Prize Brisbane QLD
2018
FINALIST Lethbridge Small Scale Art Prize Brisbane QLD
2017
FINALIST Lethbridge Small Scale Art Prize Brisbane QLD
2016
FINALIST Warringah Art Prize Sydney NSW
EDUCATION
1988
BA (Hons) Graphic Design Bristol UWE, UK
1998
Diploma in Photography, Sydney, Australia