Sam Rough (b. 1973) is an abstract painter based in West London. After graduating she worked as a trainer & teacher for a number of years until children arrived, at which point she set up a small home studio. This enabled her to grab time consistently alongside her other commitments and her practice evolved organically around her circumstances. 10 years on, she paints full-time.

She uses colour, line, form and the materiality of paint as expression. For her most recent work she often talks about, “The image under the surface” cracking through emerging, never fully realised, obvious or graspable. What the viewer makes of these ambiguous marks is entirely subjective, based on their own experiences; their own visual library. Will they make a connection with the piece, will they be affected by it, maybe even create their own narrative? She certainly hopes so.

Her paintings are instinctual expressions; led by intuition and feeling, tempered with conscious thought. She sketches directly onto canvas and then responds; creating textures, layering paint and other media with boldness and energy. The materiality of paint inspires her and so it is explored and optimised; it is thickened, thinned, trowelled on, pasted, scraped back, poured, smeared, splashed, sanded. Planes of colour and shape invite the viewer in directing towards further exploration; details of the physical surface texture, the hidden, the yet unexplored, the veiled, the obvious are all contained. Collage and other media are embedded. The surface is manipulated with a variety of tools; squeegies, scrapers, trowels and the occasional paintbrush. All the while adjusting, balancing and harmonising shape, colour, line, texture etc in order to nudge a painting towards becoming. Multiple paths, outcomes and destinations are considered. Cycles of growth and permanence follow destruction and concealment, follow stale mate and so on. Painting requires faith, resilience and courage but the risks are worth the reward.

Sam Rough’s paintings often convey a unique perspective; her Asian heritage and the British culture she was born into. This duality of cultures & identity gives her work a unique perspective into the lived experiences, traditions & connections of both filtering through. Although, the starting point for her has always been the impulse to paint. This impulse can eventually lead to what some call “a state of flow”. For her this space is deep within, its a metaphysical space, it has strength, reliability, is limitless and authentic. Tapping into this space is a fundamental part of her practice.

 She hopes you enjoy her work.

Her work is held in private collections in London, Spain & the UK.