A Symphony of Gannets is latest Lewes exhibition

Neeta Pedersen, who runs the gallery, said: “It is Brighton artist Sara Hill’s third exhibition here, showing new works that she has created over the past two years or so.

“Sara says that the Victorians had a penchant for using birds and beetles as fashion items, leading some to the brink of extinction. She prefers to honour wildlife as subjects to incorporate into her oil paintings and detailed drawings, depicting colourful seascapes and landscapes. The intention is to draw the observer in, to discover a hidden world that isn’t immediately obvious, taking time to absorb the intricacies in the artworks.

“A Symphony of Gannets is also the title of the key picture in the show, an oil painting inspired by her kayaking around Bass Rock in the Firth of Forth in Scotland last year. The island plays host to the world’s largest northern gannet colony and she has painted 100,000 of them! Symphony refers to the cacophony of sound from the birds that accompanied her on her journey. There is a strength in nature that we can harness to enrich our lives and our creativity, she believes.

“She has had over 100 exhibitions, most of them solo, across the UK and in Berlin and has sold paintings worldwide. Her work has also appeared many times on TV, on BBC1 and 2, ITV 1 and the Disney Channel.

“2025 began with Sara making changes to her ongoing corporate exhibition in Brighton, followed by a solo show at The New Ashgate Gallery in Farnham in April. The Star Brewery exhibition will be followed by shows in Chichester and Seaford next year.

“Last year she made the brave decision to have her own personal Bonfire of the Vanities and burned around four dozen of her paintings! A cathartic experience she says, making her current body of work more relevant and topical.”