Oh Hey Sara Winfield!
We have been huge fans of Sara Winfield for the longest time, so you can imagine how excited we are to welcome her to the Jumbled Art Collective. We caught up with Sara just in time to welcome her first pieces to the store - which we just KNOW you're going to love!!!
How did your love of art start? "My love of art started from an early age, but presented more as intrigue about the world grew in general. I grew up on a farm and resources were limited - so I'd construct tops out of patchwork fabrics, make paper out of the blossom and leaves in the garden and paint with ground up rocks from the creek.
I wasn't always a painter, and its certainly not a career I would've ever thought I would end up in. I was encouraged academically at school, and it wasn't until my final year of study that I realised a creative career would be possible. I explored fashion and swimwear for a while, but I find it didn't fully acknowledge my curiosities about the world. I don't find the process of creating difficult at all as the possibilities for creation are infinite. I will say though, I am a typical 'creative' in that I'm highly sensitive and emotional; which means productivity ebs and flows according to how I feel. I battle with the dark and much as I thrive in the light, and I'm attracted to the very things that will essentially fuel or destroy my work."
How are you feeling to be joining the Jumbled Art Collective? "I am extremely excited and flattered - it's very reassuring to know that my work is supported by a like-minded business. To be included in the Jumbled Art Collective with my newer style of work encourages me to keep painting and persisting with the creative process, and reassures me I'm on the right path. So far, I have been warmed by Jumbled's enthusiasm and generosity in supporting a young young like myself."
Where do you draw inspiration? "The simplest way to answer this would be to say 'everything!'. But I love to write so; I adore creatures and I am perplexed by the human condition. I am drawn to both it's complexities and fragility. I value being able to express my imagination through otherworldly interpretations of the people, flora and fauna that surround me and I love that so many different thoughts and opinions can be expressed through a bush stroke. Many of the marks I make are instinctual, and colour selection and mixing come very naturally to me. I am constantly inspired by poetry, exploring other artists work and just feeling all the feelings there are to feel.
We were first introduced to your work after coming across your 'Girls' in so many children's rooms...did you start out with the girls, and later move to abstracts? "When I left school, I began studies in fashion, which highly influenced the subject of my paintings and illustrations. The Girls came about as a natural progression from fashion illustration, and once picked up by a few high profile clients, took on a life of their own. The Girls supported me for a few years, but the more I painted, the less connected I felt to the work. I had so many ideas and feelings about myself and the world, and didn't feel like Girls represented everything that was going on inside. I'm completely transparent about the impact my personal life and emotional complexities have on my work, as it's all connected. Working more abstracting and intricately, while still incorporating the figure means I sleep restfully and there isn't anything left to think about at the end of the day."
What's been the best thing to happen in your career so far? "Being picked up by Jumbled is certainly a highlight - it is so heart-warming to have your work noticed and recognised by others. I've worked on large murals, painted for high profile clients, attended trade shows... but I think the best thing that has happened is that I haven't given up. I've certainly come very close, a number of times, but pushing through that barrier of self doubt has been the biggest reward I can think of so far."
What does a standard day look like for you? "A standard day for me has no set order, but include a list of activities in order to keep me mentally and physically at peace. A relatively normal day would be waking early, exercising, maybe meeting my sister and niece for a coffee, and then getting to the studio mid morning. I used to try and paint for 8-9 hours a day, but there's no longevity in that; its so exhausting! So now I paint for 5-6 hours, do some admin, paint a little more... there's no set routine.
A big part of working creatively is the 'work' you do outside of the studio; collecting experiences, noticing colours in nature, reading etc - so it's good to step outside my practise to collect inspiration and restore calmness."
When are you at your happiest? "This question has taken me so long to work out! But I now know its when I am surrounded by family and friends, I've got a healthy rhythm of exercise flowing, I'm reading broadly, indulging frequently, owning very little and painting at a consistent and sustainable level. I don't believe in the search for happiness as much as I do in simply feeling balanced, which I also find through listening to others and being able to offer advice or a safe space with which they can land. I'm generally just a super sensitive person, so being wrapped up in a rug, with a tea, reading and questioning our existence is pretty standard for me."
The Jumbled Quickie
- The first thing you do when you have spare time: Bake, get outside into fresh air, read things that are probably a little too dark
- Guilty pleasure: Hot chippies and a rose!
- Dream Collaboration: Kip and Co, TOMS Organic, Thankyou
- Hidden Talent: Waking up to find I've folded my pyjamas that I was wearing into a neat, army-style square at the bottom of my bed without realising
- One thing from your bucket list: Build a home near a big tree and have afternoon tea under it every Sunday
- Favourite Spotify Playlist: I listen to all kinds of random things, especially when I paint. At the moment there's been a lot of Ludovico Einaudi
- Go-to meal to cook when you have friends over?: Anything baked - crumbles, banana bread, tarts, all the good things.
- Craziest thing you've ever done? Booked a ticket to Nepal with two weeks notice, and went and trekked the highest pass in the world alone for 14 days - as my first solo travel experience.
- Last book you read: No Friend But the Mountains by Behrouz Boochani, and I'm currently reading Mating in Captivity by Esther Perel (I highly recommend both!)
- Current Netflix addiction: Bodyguard
- Song that gets you on the dancefloor: Shake Your Groove Thing!
