For a few months now, I have been keeping a secret… Apart from a few friends and also some inquisitive people who found out on their own, I’ve been painting semi-abstract landscapes in oils and posting them in a separate Instagram account.
I decided to expand my horizons when going on a long trip to the Arctic in early 2025. I saw such wonderful things. Apart from the last day, the whole adventure took place in the polar night, which unexpectedly wasn’t dark all the time. The sun didn’t reach the horizon line but it shone from a lower point and painted the sky with beautiful colours for a few hours each day. We went swimming and kayaking on the Arctic Ocean, we watched whales and orcas, we went for long treks in the snow and spent nights watching the Northern Lights. We did visit the most northerly botanical gardens on the planet, but it was under two metres of snow. So if I wanted to paint my memories of the trip, it had to be landscapes…
In the beginning it didn’t go as smoothly as I had hoped. I felt lost. And so frustrated. My efforts in landscape painting looked pretty poor when compared to what I could do with my botanical work. I went on a course at West Dean College with a wonderful teacher called Steve Humble. It helped a bit but I still felt lost. Six months later, I went back to another course with Steve. I still didn’t get the revelation moment I was looking for, and I still didn’t have a clear vision of what I wanted to do, but I started to have a better idea of what I didn’t want to do, which is useful too.
I had the language of painting but I still needed to find my landscape voice…
Another six months passed and a third course came along. Steve doesn’t teach by demonstrating or teaching techniques. He just comes round to your little corner of the studio and asks questions. He makes you reflect and helps you find your own answers. Towards the end of that third course he simply asked: “Why do you want to paint semi-abstract landscapes?” I picked up my notebook and wrote for two hours. That was it. The moment when for the first time I thought “I know what I’m doing!”After that it’s just a question of practising and getting better…
Unfortunately Steve no longer teaches at West Dean. My fourth course would be due about now… I would have loved to have another one but after an instant of panic I felt that actually I am also okay to fly solo. I am still exploring and still searching and improving but I am no longer lost. I will probably ask Steve to book an online mentoring session here and there, when I feel I am at crossroads and I could do with a couple of finely tuned questions to ponder.
Although my art practice is expanding from the close-up world of plants to the wider scale of landscape, the inspiration behind my work remains the same. The medium might change from watercolours to oils and the style from realism to semi-abstract, but I am still aiming to show the beauty of nature and trying to capture ephemeral moments before they fade, whether in a single glorious flower or a seascape at dusk.
However, because I am painting a semi-abstract scene rather than a detailed, realistic close-up subject, the process is different. Instead of painting from life, it might start from a photograph or a sketch of a specific place. The focus then shifts to a memory or a feeling, revisiting the light, textures and colours, which allows a gradual untethering from reality. This leaves space for viewers to bring their own memories into the painting, perhaps thinking of a different place altogether or even remembering a place where they’ve never been.
These two sides of my art practice will now exist side by side rather than one being hidden behind the other. I have been updating my website to reflect the change, so you can browse different pages to see more of my landscape work.
So why come out now? Because something very exciting has happened: I have been signed up by a gallery! My landscape work is now officially out, exhibited for all to see. The gallery is called The Wilverley Gallery and is on the High Street in Lymington. It’s a lovely gallery and I am delighted to have my work in there.
If you wish to follow this new side of my art on Instagram, you can find my landscapes under the account @ateliersandrinemaugy. The botanical work account is @sandrinemaugy. Steve on Instagram is @humbleartist62 and the Wilverley gallery is @wilverleygallery
I want to finish by thanking Steve for his guidance and encouraging words and also Tanya, who runs the Wilverley gallery, for welcoming me in her beautiful space. Having my canvases in a gallery is a big step in this new adventure…
I find so much joy painting my semi-abstract oil landscapes, I hope you enjoy looking at them too 🙂
Sandrine
