Havant artist has work selected for annual exhibition at Royal Academy of Arts in London

After running through the same underpass for a long time, Havant artist Sarah Butterfield felt inspired to capture the way the artificial lighting meets the daylight outside.

Sarah’s painting was chosen to be part of the Winter Exhibition at the prestigious academy in London - and has already been sold.

On taking inspiration from the underpass, Sarah said: ‘It always struck me that it was so much more beautiful than anyone would expect it to be. I’m very interested in different types of light and when we have more than one light source.

‘It’s really wonderful that these mechanically laid out tiles are slightly sticking out at different angles and catching the light in different ways.’

She added: ‘The idea behind the painting is we are in this life going towards the light transitioning from man-made, artificial light towards real daylight.’

Sarah visited the exhibition and had the opportunity to meet other artists whose work had been selected, as well as seeing her own piece on the wall.

The architect-turned-artist said: ‘It’s just an amazing feeling. I was very enthusiastic about meeting other artists exhibiting in the same year as me.

‘The painting can also be seen as a metaphor for how we all feel now living with Covid. The real light we crave is ahead of us and we just need to keep going forward. The artificial light on the tiled lining of the underpass, though darkly lit, is actually beautiful.’

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A theme running through many of Sarah’s works is the struggle between artificial and natural light, whether it is under a motorway, or a view in Langstone Harbour or the view from a ferry to the Isle of Wight.

A series of sunrises and sunsets were created by Sarah, including some which involved an early morning ferry journey to capture first light.

Sarah said: ‘I am inspired by the ever-changing wonders of daylight which at the beginning and end of the day can be pin pricked by man-made, artificial light.’

To see more of Sarah’s work, visit sarahbutterfield.co.uk and view her gallery.

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