Beltane

Sarah Gillespie (b. 1963)
“It is my hope, through a process of longlooking
and close attention, focusing on
quieter moments of beauty and oft hidden
lives, to reveal something of the natural
world’s remaining loveliness and, in so
doing, to see what answering grace that
might awaken in ourselves.”
Sarah Gillespie is an expert in the intricate
and painstaking method of mezzotint, also
known as ‘the English Method’, a form
of engraving using a copper plate. She
sees it as a labour of love, a method of
quiet application, creating an image which
emerges from darkness to light. Her work
is about staying still and paying attention
to the natural world that we inhabit. She is
not concerned with self expression, stating
that “we are at our most creatively powerful
when we can overcome or more precisely
forget ourselves, staying open and attentive
to the way things are.”
Sarah Gillespie was born in Winchester
and currently lives and works in Devon.
She studied ‘16th & 17th century methods
and materials’ at the Atelier Neo-Medici in
Paris and then read Fine Art at Pembroke
College, Oxford (BFA Ruskin School of
Drawing & Fine Art). Upon leaving She
was awarded the Elizabeth Greenshield
Foundation International Award for
figurative art. In 2016 she was elected a
member of the Royal West of England
Academy. Her work has been exhibited
widely and is held in numerous private
and public collections including: the
V&A Museum; Victoria Gallery in Bath;
the Government Offices for the South
West; the Royal West of England Academy;
Sharpham Trust; Chatsworth House; Castle
Howard; Damien Hirst; Museum of Fine
Arts in Yekaterinburg, Russia; The Xuihui
Museum of fine Art in Shanghai and Calvin
University in Michigan.
Nottingham Catchfly & Whitespot Moth
mezzotint engraving. two plate diptych (ed 30), plate size 30 x 23 cm each
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