Sarah has been a staff member at Signal Arts Centre since October 2006. She had a solo show called "Between Line and Form" at the Signal gallery for two weeks, ending on May 11th (2008). Linde Fidorra asked her about her work.

Why do you think that "Self Portrait as an Alien" has been so popular?

It could be a bit disconcerting for me because it's the oldest piece in the show! It is one of a small number of paintings I brought over to Ireland from London a few years ago. I like to see it as a kind of foundation stone in my learning as a painter, it's a good building block to move on from and also return to when I want to. Its appeal could be due to the unusual subject matter which hooks you in and is fun, and it has a sense of space and composition which doesn't make the eyes do too many aerobic manoeuvres that some of my busier recent work requires! I wasn's at all sure what the reaction to it would be. When I lived in London I took it to a framer I used to work with to try out frames, and the staff surprised me by reacting with horror. They thought it was rubbish - so you never know how people will react, it's always a surprise.

How is your recent work different to "Self Portrait as an Alien" ?

I've been trying to explore painting from different angles. This has involved looking at the 2D qualities of painting and the use of mark making and lines - basically at the boundaries between line and form, as suggested by the title of the show. The sense of composition has altered and in some cases it has become more complex, depending on what I'm working on at the time. It's about working through something that interests me, and the actual process of painting for me is very intuitive.

What else informs your work ?

Underpinning all the painting I ever do is a great love of the practise of drawing and sketching. I always have a sketch book with me and love sketching what is around me, be it on the train, waiting at a bus stop or sitting in a cafe'. It could be the coffee mug, or maybe I end up drawing someong at a nearby table. Drawing from life feeds into my paintings, as well as my ideas. I believe that a sound discipline in drawing and painting from life is a prerequisite to any kind of painting, figurative or abstract. The shapes, lines and forms, feed the paintings I do.

How have people responded to your abstract paintings?

From this last show I have had some really positive responses and feedback which has been great, but I know that sometimes people struggle to understand the visual language of so-called abstract art. People who are less used to looking at non-figurative art may be uncertain how to respond to it. I actually don't think that putting labels like 'figurative or 'abstract' on the work is particularly helpful. I see them as two sides of the same coin - one would be nothing without the other, if done well. Acute realist and total abstraction are a hair's breadth apart in my opinion.

A painting can move people spiritually or emotionally in a similar vein to music. The response can be not unlike how we are moved by music, which is also abstract and requires no explanation. A painting can also be enjoyed for its content, colour, depth or texture to name but a few. A finished painting should sing its own song (I forget who said that!). Some people will hear its song and like or dislike it, others won't even hear its song. I believe that if paintings have to be explained by words then they aren't finished or working. Guidelines or pointers can be useful for people less versed in non-figurative pieces, but not a 'translation' of the work into words (if that's even possible), as painting is a nonverbal vocabulary. Painting speaks its own unique language and has done since the cavemen!

Where do you see your work going next?

Well, I'm getting increasingly insterested in the shapes of Dublin city with its angular structures, I'd like to use perspective and see where that takes me, combined with basic geometric shapes, maybe even some maths if my brain can cope. The overlap between art and science, philosophy, music, poetry is always something I'm conscious of and I am keen to keep looking at. At the moment I think it could be the maths and art side of things I'll have a go at. I'm keen to work large scale for awhile too. But, as I mentioned before, each painting evolves in a fairly intuitive way. They aren't planned, which means the end result can be very different to the starting place.

I see you have another show coming up at Urban Retreat Gallery in Hanover Square.

Yeah, it's really exciting. I'll be showing some new places as well as some of the work that I showed at Signal in May; it'll be fun to see them in a different place. Urban Retreat is a fairly new and contemporary gallery space with great views overy the quays. The gallery mostly focuses on work by artists who have been on a residency in Cill Rialaig, Ballinskelligs, County Kerry. The opening night is Wednesday June 11th, so there's not long to go now!

What is your role as Staff Artist at Signal Arts Centre?

Like all the other Staff Artists I'm involved with a number of things, including hanging the shows and doing gallery duties. I co-run 3 rehab classes, which I really enjoy. I'm also restarting my adult painting/drawing class in the next month or so.

('Self Portrait as an Alien' can be seen in 'Of Human or Animal' section of website).