In the Garden with Sandy Dooley

Bright Autumn

In an age dominated by conceptualism and abstraction, Sandy Dooley’s beautiful landscapes come as a welcome respite. Painting out-of-doors to capture the interplay of light and shadow, Dooley is spearheading an Impressionist renaissance. But this isn't just Impressionism churned out 150 years later – Dooley revitalizes the once-radical style with a contemporary twist, expertly capturing the tension between figuration and abstraction.

Still contemplating my techniques and ideas to complete my final project piece, I came across Sandy Dooley and love how she portrays a countryside character by using a chromatic palette and broadly applied atmospheric blotches of paint to form the wonders outside.

Landscape artist living and working in the beautiful Weald of Kent in the UK, Sandy is known for paintings that transport the viewer to the in-the-moment experience of being out in the countryside surrounded by the colors and visual richness of the natural world.

Her work captivated me as I am deciding whether to produce something similar in terms of vibrant colors, I love using color and texture in my work and I’m always attempting to use these elements to create a harmonious balance.

Spring Greener

Winter Blue

Given that her studio is in her garden and she works outside as much possible, Sandy exquisitely captures the moods of each season in her paintings – from the verdant greens of spring and warm tones of an Indian summer, to the deep rich hues of fall and the cool blues of winter.  Her work feels as spontaneous and lush as any garden with her vibrant colors.  

Its also like she uses the same scene in every piece of work but in different seasonal times which is what I have been looking into doing throughout my experiments though I have used watercolor because for me the unpredictability and uncontrollable nature of watercolor make it the most exciting and expressive medium to use even if its just to use as a block color or to add some minor detail.

Indian Summer

Coastal