Having become successful with watercolour — and with make-up and body painting — Sarah Bee has found her perfect mix of media.

I feel as if my life thus far has been leading me towards painting. At school in Dorset my main interest and area of success was art, and in my last years there I was fortunate enough to have a wonderful young teacher called Robin Lord, without whose inspiration and guidance I would probably have joined the Wrens, as my father suggested.

From school I went to Bournemouth College of Art and then to Maidstone College of Art, where I gained a BA in Graphic Design — graphics, because I needed to have a job and an income.

I worked in the art department of Good Housekeeping magazine for a couple of years before being attracted by the bright lights of fashion photography. I set up as a make-up artist and later specialised in body painting. To this day I work on freelance basis in that world. It is what has given me the freedom to explore painting.

I studied watercolour painting at Heatherley's School of Fine Art. Watercolour is such a challenging medium, but to a great degree I mastered it and exhibited with the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours at the Mall Galleries on a regular basis.

Eventually I grew frustrated by its limitations for me. I have always been interested in paintings that have texture, and the strength that this can bring. Watercolour refused to give me the colour and texture that I craved and the answer seemed to lie in pastel.

I read many books by masters of the art and discovered the great John Blockley. I did two or three painting weeks with his groups, most of whom were professional painters. Initially they were intimidating, but I learned so much.

John Blockley passed away a few years ago, but his legacy is enormous. Not only did he leave a wonderful body of work in acrylic and pastel, but he also left his inspiration in his group. I would not have considered pastel as a medium had it not been for John.

I greatly admire and am inspired by the work of Edgar Degas. His pastel markings are exemplary. As far as more recent artists are concerned, though they are not pastel painters I love the work of Fred Cuming, Kurt Jackson, Barbara Rae, John Brown and Michael Honnor, all of whom provide great inspiration.

Having grown up in north Dorset and spent much of my youth in the countryside, I have a great feeling of affinity with the land. I feel I have no choice but to portray the landscapes I love. If a landscape that attracts me as a painting includes a building I will usually leave it out. I prefer to give the impression of a seemingly empty stretch of land, where man has not interfered. If he has been there, the only indication will be a track from a tractor or much more ancient interference in the form of a standing stone.

My favourite light is the exciting light before a storm, with a brooding black sky and contrasting sunlight. I have always found sunny day skies difficult to paint, but admit to enjoying the challenge on rare occasions.

Landscapes

I generally have my sketchbook and camera with me. This enables me to grab a landscape whenever and wherever I go, often when least expected. I work with this material at home in my painting room. It is a small room but has good light, with a view over my garden and enough space to step back and view my progressing work from a distance — a crucial part of the process.

My biggest struggle is always to keep my work loose. If I worked outside I would be tempted to include every detail, but the process of elimination seems much easier at home. I also need access to heat and water, so there's no question that I prefer to be indoors.

Approach to painting

I have attempted small paintings, but without much success. I generally paint between 22X16in. and 30X20in. Recently I have worked in varied formats, from square to a long, narrower rectangle. I find I get bored if I always follow the same format. I quickly discovered that paper was not really suited to my work and the unforgiving processes that I employ. Therefore I tend to paint on mountboard as it doesn't cockle and disintegrate.

Although the surface of my painting is predominantly pastel, I suppose that technically it would be usually be described as mixed media. I usually underpaint with gesso and then lay on acrylic colour in large areas, which I splatter and scratch into with more acrylic. I use quite a lot of water, so often I will gently dry the paint with a hair dryer. I am too impatient to wait for natural drying time and sometimes interesting effects can be obtained by chasing the paint with the dryer.

I then start to build up the pastel on top of the acrylic. I use charcoal for drawing and also as black; I prefer it to black pastel as it is not so dense. I like Unison pastels, which are handmade and provide a mass of varying colours and tones, all with a wonderful creamy texture. The colours have a subtlety, and I have a natural inclination to earth colours. I tend to avoid leaf/grass green and usually substitute it with something more blue or brown.

I try to vary my marks, keeping them alive and spontaneous looking. I leave small areas of the underpainting peeking through to keep the painting alive and give the overall look some substance.

I work on the entire painting at once, never from one side to the other. The whole painting grows simultaneously, and this way a balance is achieved. Sometimes I work into a damp paint surface, to give the pastel a stronger appearance.

Composition

Compositionally I try to lead the viewer through the painting, either with colour, or more obviously with paths, roads or rivers. I also try to leave a 'quiet' area as a contrast to the worked areas and to prevent an overly busy impression. When the painting is almost finished I often lift certain areas with the addition of a splash of unexpected bright colour.

Pastel really is an exciting medium to use. The variety of marks possible seems endless, and the colour available is lightfast. The only downside I can think of is the fact that it must always be framed behind glass. Even with a light spray of fixative it can be easily damaged if touched.

Last year I was elected to the Pastel Society, one of the art societies under the umbrella of the Federation of British Artists at the Mall Galleries in London. Not only was it an honour, but it has brought my work to the attention of collectors and galleries. At the annual exhibition my work was selected for the main publicity, and I won the Debra Manifold Memorial Prize donated by the Linda Blackstone gallery — all of which has been very encouraging.

This feature is from the June 2007 of The Artist.