Sarah Gordon is a painter whose work merges the natural world with abstract impressions, capturing the spirit of landscapes and the emotions these evoke.
The inspiration for her latest exhibition at Matawhero Art Gallery was a six-week journey through Mexico, hence the title Mexican Snapshots.
Gordon grew up on a farm in Manutūkē and did her schooling in Gisborne. She always loved being creative and took art at Lytton High School.
She lived in Wellington and worked as a landscape designer and project manager for many years. Between 2000 and 2004, Gordon devoted herself to her art, painting full-time and exhibiting during this time.
“I couldn’t do both the landscaping and art at the same time. They use different sides of the brain,” she says. “But I guess I have been a designer all the way through.”
Her work invites viewers to experience the small snapshots — moments in time and place — of her Mexican wanders.
“I loved Mexico. It was hot and vibrant. The people were so friendly and lovely.
“We often stayed out of the main tourist areas. We found a great place, which was slightly derelict, but right on the beachfront in Puerta Escondido on the Pacific Ocean on the south coast.”
In one painting, she captured the rooftops in Campeche on the Gulf of Mexico.
Gordon’s paintings have a varying colour palette — from light and bright to dark and shadowy.
Enchanted by the vivid colours, bold contrasts and interplay of light and shade in the region, she channelled these inspirations into her distinctive encaustic-like technique — layering acrylic paint and wax to create depth and texture.
“I use one colour for each layer. For example, on this painting there’ll be 20 layers on top of the base ochre colour.
“For each layer I put on a thin glaze and then I scrape it back using wet sandpaper on a sanding block. I put all the paint on with a silicon blade and a steel blade. And I put a layer of acrylic wax over each layer, so it’s a mixture of acrylic glaze and acyclic wax.”
Travel has inspired a lot of her work. In 2018, she lived on a yacht on the Mediterranean with her partner and visited France, Italy, Croatia and Greece.
“It was like a caravan on the sea.... we’d stop and hire a car and go inland and explore.”
Other inspiration comes from her home in Ferry Landing on the Coromandel Peninsula and Gisborne, where she has renovated a bach at Okitu.
Gordon had a solo exhibition at Tairāwhiti Museum in 2021, which featured paintings of two farms in Manutūkē. She is also part of the Mercury Bay Art Escape which takes place during March. She was part of the annual She Shed Tour in Gisborne from 2020 to 2023 and sells work at galleries nationally.
Mexican Snapshots runs at Matawhero Art Gallery until the beginning of February. Check the Matawhero Winery website for opening hours.
