Laura Darling & Joanna Farrow – Land Marks

Land Marks

An exhibition of paintings by Laura Darling and Joanna Farrow.

We seek anchors in the landscape; building webs of familiarity. Tree become friends, light hooks the eye, rocks marks the path. We know the land, we’re part of it.

Laura Darling
I’m an artist and writer living in Brighton. As a landscape painter, I aim to capture atmosphere, space and silence. I’m interested in how our history is woven into the landscape in the paths we’ve made and the walls we’ve built. How geology has formed the structure of the land, how the weather shapes our experience of being outside. I want those who view my work to feel like they could step into the landscape and be part of it.

I like to use quite dry oil paint on drippy layers to capture the chalky, pared back landscapes and like the unfussy nature of using paint in this way. I keep some of the pencil markings that help me structure the painting, and look for lines of light, slivers of colour that catch the eye and pull the viewer in to the landscape.

I exhibit in Sussex, London and Devon and sell work in the UK, Europe and the USA. Recent exhibitions include the RSBA Bicentennial at the Mall Galleries, a solo show and numerous group shows in Brighton and venues in Brighton’s Artists Open Houses. I was shortlisted for the Jacksons Painting Prize in 2023.

Joanna Farrow
I am a landscape artist, living and working in East Sussex, very close to the beautiful and captivating Ashdown Forest. My rural surroundings combine farmland with lakes and woods, heathland and wilderness, and the Sussex coast not too far away. I take daily walks in these places, often with sketchbook in hand to explore and take inspiration from the wonderful landscape that surrounds me. From the muted stillness of winter to the vibrant, lushness of summer, I love the different palettes and moods that seasonal changes bring to the environment and hence to my work.

My artistic process is to draw or paint ‘plein-air’, or take ideas I have gathered back to my studio to develop them. I generally work with oils, though increasingly acrylics, oil sticks, pastels and other materials come into play. Besides brushes, I use my hands, rags and other materials as tools to move paint around and see what textures and forms emerge. I am naturally drawn to light and atmosphere in my work. Whatever my intention in a painting, the process usually evolves with the painting taking its own course. I have learnt to let this happen as I find that the core ‘sense of place’ within the painting remains. My work sells at home and abroad and I have exhibited at various art fairs, galleries and events in the South East.