Sasha DeWitt

Landscape has always been more than a subject in my work—it is a conversation, a space of inquiry, and a way of rooting myself in place. As an abstract landscape artist, I explore the relationship between memory, emotion, and geography, translating the experience of being in a place into layered compositions of colour, texture, and movement. Having lived in multiple countries and carried a sense of rootlessness, I’m drawn to the question of what defines a place: Is it the land itself, or the stories we bring to it? My practice investigates this tension between belonging and transience, between the seen and the felt. Recently, my work has expanded to include an exploration of naturally forged pigments, deepening my connection to the landscapes I paint. I collect earth, rocks, and other natural materials and transform them into pigments that become integral to my compositions. Each painting is not just about a place; it contains the place, physically embedded in the work. This process allows me to engage more intimately with the land, learning its hidden colours, its history, and its material essence. By combining these foraged pigments with my existing approach to abstract landscape painting, I aim to create pieces that hold the spirit of a location. This exploration is both personal and universal—rooted in my own experience of place yet inviting the viewer to connect with the landscapes they carry within them. Ultimately, my work is an act of translation: of memory into mark-making, of earth into pigment, and of place into presence.