Janet Sainsbury

I am interested in capturing the emotional power implicit in everyday interactions.

Inspired by an Alex Katz exhibition, I make paintings, drawings and prints of people I know: family, friends and myself. I paint from memory and include imagined elements; I portray myself as a hiker exploring personal territories.

I paint rapidly, using vivid colour and definitive outlines.

Following her time at Porthmeor, Janet reflected on how much she enjoyed her stay and the impact it had on her work:

“The experience of working in such a historic place was energising and inspiring. I was able to completely focus in the space, which allowed my ideas to flow and I developed a considerable amount of work. The size of the studio enabled me to work on a bigger scale and experiment with using oil paint on unstretched canvas.

I looked at the work of the Newlyn School at Penlee House, Penzance, explored the great collection of books in St Ives Library and researched local textile factories in the St Ives Archive. The riddle ‘As I was going to St Ives, I met a man with Seven Wives ‘ triggered a series of individual and group portraits of women, exploring working roles and identities.”