Sarah Gayle Carter used to design things — custom rugs mostly. Also mirrors, lamps, plates, furniture, and even scarves. The years spent in the high end home furnishings market earned her international acclaim. But most of all, Carter says it trained her eye and taught her about the detail and discipline required to develop design strong enough to translate through the many phases of development from sketch to final manufactured product. 

“But now I paint,” says Carter. “My designer eye responds to line, form, and certainly color. I look for the color and structure hiding beneath the surface of things. I push the world I see into an abstracted, but recognizable play of color, texture and geometry – a fresh, fun, modern take on the classic genre of landscape painting.”

Carter says that she plans a little, plays a lot, and let her instincts lead the way. “This is about joy,” she explains. “As much fun as it is to loosen up and play with paint, the designer in me is alive and well. I’m attracted to clean composition, color, pattern and texture. After years of the controlled specification required for production of custom rugs and other home furnishings products, I enjoy the immediacy of paint on my brush, color at my fingertips, the smell, the feel, and the constant surprises that lead the way. Painting, for me, is a rewarding form of down and dirty magic.”

“Field Studies” by Sarah Gayle Carter will be on display from June 7– 29 at Glave Kocen Gallery. An opening reception will be held on June 7 from 6-8 PM.