Collection: Sarah Stokes

Inspirational contemporary portrayals of the animal kingdom

Sarah Stokes is moved to paint by nature, particularly the animal kingdom, and her images of livestock, birds of prey and wildlife are building her an enviable reputation in the UK and beyond.

For as long as she can remember, Sarah has felt the need to draw, paint and create, so has never lacked motivation or inspiration. Creativity for her is synonymous with peace and relaxation. She is generally drawn to a subject by way of its quirkiness, colour or beauty, or by a combination of all three. Although she does all of her painting in her studio, Sarah does carry out life studies of animals around the Cotswolds, Shropshire and Wales. If she thinks that she can bring an animal to life with her paints, then she is determined to do so.

Watercolour is Sarah’s medium of choice. She enjoys the fact that it can both be controlled and be allowed to run, splash and mix. This gives her the option of keeping certain areas of the work tightly composed, while she can loosen up both personally and stylistically at any time, making the process of painting both unpredictable and rewarding. “I love the intensity and luminosity of its colours, and its unpredictability when I use it.”

Sarah has exhibited in galleries across the UK, and her work has been shown at Jamie Oliver’s Big Feastival in Oxfordshire and at Crufts (March 2015). She has private collectors in the UK, the USA, Belarus and Australia, and her corporate clients include the Otsuka Pharmaceutical Head Office in Sweden. She has studied painting under Alyssa Monks, acclaimed artist and professor at the New York Academy of Art, and Louis Smith, BP Portrait award winner, at his studio in Manchester.