Sasha Hart

Artist Interview

What medium do you work with, and why have you chosen them?

I work in oil paint predominately. Oil is an interesting medium in that it has such a long history but is still used today to convey contemporary ideas. It was William de Kooning who said that the reason oil paint was invented was to paint flesh, and I find that its smooth viscosity and slow drying time accommodates my way of working.

How does your artwork get from initial concept to exhibition stage?

I am constantly thinking about my paintings and what my next one can be. The planning process before is important as I feel it frees me up when I get into the actual painting. I often will work from photographs that I have taken and doctor them through photoshop or another editing site to collage or play with the kinds of effects which may emerge on the canvas. Experimentation is also important to the paintings, while the planning process is a constant, I also like to explore other ideas on a spare piece of paper, or cut-off, doing many sketches and colour studies alongside.

Can you tell us a little more about your creative working environment/studio?

Right now I'm in the final year of my undergraduate degree at the National Art School. This means that (luckily) I have a studio space of my own on campus. I love my studio and will go there whenever I can. It acts like respite from all the chaos around me while at the same time being like a hyper-focused sometimes quite tense space.