Sarah Farrow is yet another Oxford artist that Dr Matthew Reynolds, gallery director at St Anne’s, discovered during last year’s Artweeks. Matthew says he is never busier than during the three weeks of the festival, which he sees as a wonderful opportunity to meet new artists and view their works.

He liked Sarah’s work immediately he saw it. He admired the way the lines and shapes break free from the scenery to pursue their own energies, taking on brighter colours and more vigorous forms as they do so. Sarah’s paintings, on display until February 27, show the way this very talented artist is progressing and reaching towards new horizons. Entitled Tree Lovers: Paintings and Ceramics, the exhibition allows us to examine her earlier works, mainly landscapes, and then go on to enjoy the way she is now focusing on the trees within those landscape.

Some are painted in pastels, others in acrylics. All call for bright and positive colours. Like Vincent van Gogh she enjoys the juxtaposition of greens, yellows and reds, and allows some of her trees to dance on the canvas as if pushing against the wind. Tree Lovers is perhaps one of her darker pictures. The entangled trees may be lovers, but theirs is a love that’s acted out against a violent, angry backdrop.

Other trees Sarah has depicted appear to have as many roots as branches and the roots are like pathways, leading to strange places and ragged horizons. These works both intrigue and delight, and suggest that Sarah is walking a pathway of discovery that will continue to take her work into strange and wondrous places. She admits that she’s been taking a fresh look at trees lately, particularly those she noticed while out running.

Other works on show include a collection of extremely tactile sculptures, which call out to be touched and held.