Smithereen Stories: Artist Sarah Belford
I love to watch how light changes a landscape, much of my work features strong shadows, and spending long days out in the mountains helps me see how they translate from real life onto canvas.
Her curious eye and content smile convey a sense of mischief as she rummages through her backpack. Perched on a boulder on the shores of Crater Lake, Sarah Belford puts pen to paper, sketching the morphing autumn view.
“I love this time of year, when it can rain and snow while still being sunny” shares Sarah as she sketches and watches the clouds rise and fall offering glimpses of the towering Hudson Bay Mountain peak. “There’s no shortage of views and feelings in this place, even if I’ve been here a million times.”
Her awe and respect for where she grew up is her creative inspiration. Equal parts mountain go-getter and artist, Sarah is her own yin to her yang. Seeking summits, views and connections with the landscape is chased with creative studio rituals and puppy snuggles. A true Smithereen, Sarah’s artwork and presence ripple through town with warmth.
Luring Sarah out of the studio with a coffee for a catch-up, we dive deep into the elements that are behind her craft and ingrained in her being.
Photo Abby Cooper
Thoughts on Smithers Things
What inspires you about Smithers most to create?
Smithers is an incredible access point to so many places that a lot of people in BC don’t really ever get to see, I am just so fortunate to be able to call this place home and explore all of these beautiful quiet mountains. Not only that, but the community is so supportive and tight-knit, that I feel so loved in my artistic endeavours here, I can’t help but be inspired by the support.
Photo Abby Cooper
How do you obtain this inspiration and translate it into art?
A lot of my process comes from time spent intentionally outside, and really absorbing the spaces around me in their little details. I love to watch how light changes a landscape, much of my work features strong shadows, and spending long days out in the mountains helps me see how they translate from real life onto canvas. Sometimes, I’ll have a place in mind that I want to capture, often down to the time of year and hour of the day, so I’ll wait months at a time to go out and get that image to work off of. This could mean a 12-hour hike, or getting lucky with the weather, but for me being the one to take the photo I work off of is really important for my process. It’s difficult to really grasp a place unless you’ve been there standing in front of it. So much nuance can be lost. Even when I’m not out trying to specifically get a photo for something I’m working on, I’m always packing a camera and taking moments to simply look around, visualize how it could be painted and appreciate the small details that bring the landscape to life.
Photo Abby Cooper
Where are your favourite places to explore in the area?
I’m a sucker for the Babine Mountains Provincial Park, if you saw my 2023 gallery show you probably could have put that together. It’s just so amazing to have this mountain range 30 minutes from town, that you can spend multiple days wandering around the alpine linking trails together, in winter or summer. There are steep peaks, couloirs, wetlands, wildlife, and big alpine plateaus… it feels endless and familiar. I always make sure I spend time there, every year, and I’ve never had a bad time.
What do you love most about Smithers?
I feel like the freedom and quiet we have here is one of the best parts about Smithers. I've lived in places like Whistler where it’s unlikely that you’ll have a trail to yourself, but here it’s more of a surprise to see people when you're hiking. Not only that, but the luxury of having so much choice in what you want to do here is incredible, you can fish for salmon essentially in town, you can mountain bike to the trails and then over to the brewery, it’s twenty minutes to our ski hill, ten to incredibly XC-skiing and forty-five minutes to excellent backcountry skiing terrain, and at the end of the day you come home to a community full of like-minded people.
I’m also so impressed with the incredible people doing such amazing things outside and for our community! I’m incredibly inspired by my friends who run the BV Social collective and create super fun events like the Back Alley Bazaar multiple times a year. I’m also inspired by all the people around me who get after it in the mountains, in summer and winter, and build others around them up as they do it.
Photo Abby Cooper
Thoughts on Being an Artist
When did you start painting?
If I had to put a year to when I started painting in my current style, more seriously, I would say around 2017. I began using acrylics and focusing on landscapes more intensely, wanting to spend time with the photos I’d collected from trips. It was at that point I felt like I really tapped into something, I felt like this was where I needed to be in my artwork and I let that guide what I have produced since.
Photo Abby Cooper
What has been your artistic journey?
I grew up a very artistically-minded kid. Throughout childhood and schooling I experimented with anything I could get my hands on, be it sculpting, screen printing, sketching, painting mediums like watercolours or even photography. But in adulthood, I gravitated more towards photography and acrylic landscapes, as they seemed to go hand in hand. I love spending time outside, and being able to capture the places I live in such an intimate way, and then spend the time with them on a canvas has been really special. I really believe that all of my experiences have built onto one another to create what I do now.
How would you describe your style?
If I’m being romantic about it, I would describe my style as being realism, but the way you remember a place rather than just how you would take a picture of it, the shadows are deeper and the blues are richer and more complex. Otherwise, I paint realism, or as close to it as possible and when I need a break from the wild amount of grass blades I’ve done, I’ll break it up with some abstracts.
Career Highlights so far?
Highest on my list at the moment was having a main gallery show in my hometown at the Smithers Art Gallery. This was such a special achievement for me as I remember walking around the space as a kid, telling my parents that I would have a show here one day. It may not be a big city space, but filling the room with friends, family and people in the community (some of who I’ve never met) on opening night was just wildly beautiful.
A big thank you to the Smithers Art Gallery for hosting my gallery show in 2023 and being so wonderful to work with in my leading up to it. And a big thank you to the entire community for showing my work so much love and support this past year! It means the world to me that you have helped me achieve goals, and continue expanding and growing this dream job of mine!
What goals are you pursuing next?
As someone who has been a part of the outdoor industry for a long time, I have always wanted to collaborate with some of the major gear companies that I’ve used or share my ideals and passions. Something like doing art for a snowboard or ski company would be an amazing opportunity. Aside from that, I would love to simply just continue making a living as an artist, and having the freedom to explore new places with my art is always the best goal.
Photo Abby Cooper
What do you want people to know about your process?
I love being a part of my art from start to finish. For me, my paintings are more than just a beautiful landscape, it’s time spent hiking or splitboarding in the mountains, it's the kilometres it took to get to that spot, the heather I slept on to get that perfect sunrise. I’m the one who spent the time to get to these places in my paintings, and capture them in the way I feel is the most true representation of the area. My hope is that people can feel the same connection to a place as I do when they see my paintings.
Where can your art be found in Smithers?
You can find my work, both originals, prints and stickers on my website: www.sarahbelfordart.com, you can also pick up one of my stickers from Local Supply Co. If you want to catch up on what I'm up to on a day-to-day basis, Instagram is the best place for it, @sarahbelford.art.
Sarah-Spread the Smithers love! What are your favourite Smithers shops/restaurants/artists/events?
Mountain Eagle Books is one place I’ve gone to for most of my life. Janet has the best homemade chai that I have ever found, and you can always find a good used book in there.
I’m not a big shopper anymore, but on any given day there is a high likelihood you’ll find me at the New to You thrift store. I'm a big fan of circular fashion and giving things a new life, so most of my wardrobe comes from there.
If I had to pick a favourite local artist in town, it’s tough but I really love Poppy Dubar’s work. Her local landscapes are so soft and colourful, they really draw you in.
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