"I approach painting intuitively, constantly
adjusting as clarity comes."
And the Wind Whispers, 2012, oil on canvas, 35 x 24 inches
(c) Sarah Hinckley
About the Work
My work is
inspired from growing up on Cape Cod surrounded by color fields of water,
marsh, beach and sky, and Rothko, Agnes Martin, 60’s formalist color field
painting and the method of Monet’s late paintings.
Recent
inspirations come from walks taken behind my parents house in Barnstable, on
Chapin Beach in Dennis at low tide, riding the subway in New York, seeing the
color someone’s jacket, while out in nature or falling asleep at night thinking
about all the projects I am working on in my studio.
I approach
painting intuitively, constantly adjusting as clarity comes; most of the work
takes a few months to complete and some remains in conversation for a year or
more. Certain elements can remain
unresolved for extended periods of time and then the process slows, reminding
me of the virtue of patience. I
incorporate two approaches while working; one, editing; the second, writing out
ideas and inspiration in a painting journal.
The journal is important because I am not always able to work on an idea
right away because oil paint needs to dry or other life commitments arise. I develop the color fields by putting down
marks and editing them in or out depending on how I see it. This process of editing allows me the
opportunity to continually be searching, whether it a new direction or idea or a
new color relationship.
Mapping out
ideas and inspirations from my world, bringing it all into the studio challenges
me to remain present, aware, and open to all the possibilities that are happening
with materials before me.
Just Holding Back, 2014, oil on canvas, 30 x 25 inches
(c) Sarah Hinckley
Reflecting on Cape Cod
I was born
and raised on Cape Cod. My family has a
long history. My Dad's family immigrated
first to Plymouth/Boston during the early stages of the great migration. They
quickly decided to move south and settled in Barnstable village in the early
1640's. My Mom's family started
spending summers in Harwich Port when she was a child in the early 1930's.
While
growing up on the Cape the seasons seemed long.
We spent as much time outside as the weather and light allowed. My parents were very enthusiastic about
picnics at the beach, cookouts in backyards, clamming on Sandy Neck, raking
leaves and just playing. Once we were
old enough to ride a bike we roamed the neighborhood... that neighborhood
consisted of a few houses but mostly fields, marsh, beach and this expansive
sky hanging over us. When inside my Mom
was big on "quiet time spent in our rooms alone" it was there that I
found myself drawing and painting... I realized later in life that is where I
first discovered the visual impact of my surroundings and the need to let it
out.
As I got
older I couldn't wait to get off of the Cape and that presented an intense
struggle within. I went out in the world
only to come back. I tried this many
time until I found a path in art school first California and Boston and later
graduate school in New York.
I am always
brought back to my first encounters with painting when in my studio now. I paint intuitively with deep influence from
the landscape of my childhood. No matter
how hard I try to separate myself from Cape Cod some sense of it always
appears.
Something Got a Hold on Me, 2013, oil on canvas, 30 x 25 inches
(c) Sarah Hinckley
