About

I was born and raised in New Zealand but like many Kiwi's I travelled. In my early twenties I spent months at a time in Indonesia escaping our cold winters. There I travelled by motorbike hunting out surf spots, meeting the locals, camping next to jungles, eating amazing local cuisine, lazing on isolated islands [ where I was bitten by a tropical Centipede and danced around by a local witch doctor] and drawing in my journal. I continued my nomadic lifestyle from there to London where I worked as a waitress and mural painter - even painting part of the ceiling of the famous 'Polar Bear Pub' in Leister Square. I spent time in Morocco and later in Italy and France. Eventually I returned to Dunedin, New Zealand where at 27 I received a degree in Fine Arts. I was lucky enough to get a job at Animation Research Ltd where I worked for 12 years. During this time I did everything from 3D animation, creative direction, production management, concept art, web design to even working on Formula One race courses. I had my first solo exhibition in 2012 as a full time artist at Orexart in Auckland. The show was called 'Spindle' and featured large scale portrayals of fairytale characters and archetypes. I was reading a lot of fairytales to my son and fell in love with the darkness of the original tales by Hans Christian Anderson and of course the brothers Grimm. Since making the decision to become a full-time artist I have been exhibiting both nationally and internationally - 'Orexart' in Auckland, 'The Artist's Room' in Dunedin, Internationally - 'Beinart Gallery' in Melbourne, 'Roq La Rue' in Seattle , 'Corey Helford Gallery' in Los Angeles.

If you would like to know more head over to my companion site

the-workbook.com

'Sarah's work has always been character driven and combines traditional portraiture with narrative. The haunting, romantic women of her Gothic paintings are often famous literary figures including Ophelia and Mary Shelley or fairy tale archetypes such as the Wicked Witch or the Damsel-in-Distress.

Sarah's characters are immediately dazzling in their power and beauty, but on closer inspection reveal hands rubbed raw, flushed complexions and above all else, unnerving expressions. Set against stark, yet luminous backgrounds, the focus of each work is firmly on the character, and the depth and complexity of emotions barely contained behind their gaze.

Sarah works patiently, building up the graceful lines of thin necks and arms, the folds of garments and the subtle pallor of skin in layers of fine detail. For Sarah, giving time to the paintings allows their emotive qualities to slowly emerge in the midst of their atmospheric palettes, creating works that are as personal and as resonant as diary entries.' [text Orexart Gallery]

above: featured articles in Sunday Star Times Magazine, Hi-Fructose Magazine and Beautiful Bizarre Magazine.

Exhibitions Upcoming

2023 - solo show at Beinart Gallery , Melbourne,

Opening reception: Nov 25th, 6 - 9pm

On view: Nov 26th - Dec 17th

Exhibitions and Press

Past

2021- solo show Late November 'The Artist's Room', Dunedin, New Zealand. This will be a small show.

2020 - November 28th - Feb, Group show at OREXART gallery, Auckland

2020 - July 4th - 26th, 'Lucid' Group show, Beinart Gallery , Melbourne

2020 - April 18th, 'Fantastic Beast's' group show at Corey Helford Gallery, Los Angeles

2020 - February 11th - 29th, 'Heads Up 2000', group show at OREXART gallery, Auckland

2019 - December 14th, 'Collectors Starter Kit' Group show at Corey Helford Gallery, Los Angeles

2019 - November, Group show, Beinart Gallery , Melbourne

2019 - June 1st, Small Works Group Show, Beinart Gallery , Melbourne

2019 - September, 'When I Was' Solo show at The Artist's Room, Dunedin, New Zealand

2019 - 'Collectors Starter Kit' Group show at Corey Helford Gallery, Los Angeles

2018 - December 1st, 'Collectors Starter Kit' Group show at Corey Helford Gallery, Los Angeles

2018 - December 5th, Christmas Group Show at 'The Artist's Room', Dunedin, New Zealand

2018 - July, Small Works Group show at Beinart Gallery , Melbourne

2018 - July 28th, 'New Romantics' Group show at Corey Helford Gallery, Los Angeles

2018 - May 3rd, New Works, OREXART, Auckland

2017 - 17th October , Solo Show Terrarium , OREXART, Auckland

2017 - March 18th - Apr 29th , Bitter | Sweet - Group Exhibition hosted By 19 Karen Contemporary, Gold Coast, Australia

2017 - March issue of Beautiful Bizarre Magazine, feature

2016 - Christmas Group Show, The Artist's Room, Dunedin, New Zealand

2016 - CHG 10th Anniversary Show, Corey Helford Gallery, Los Angeles

2016 - Small Works Group show, BEINART Gallery, Melbourne

2016 - Group show 'Below The Surface' at Corey Helford Gallery, Los Angeles.

2015 - Group Show 'Between Worlds', Corey Helford Gallery, Los Angeles

2015 - The Collectors Group show, Orexart Gallery, Auckland

2015 - Solo Show, 'Creatures of Habit', Orexart Gallery, Auckland

2015 - Review in the The New Zealand Herald by TJ McNamara of Solo show 'Creatures of Habit'

2015 - Solo show 'Carnivale', The Artist's Room, Dunedin

2014 - Group Show, The Artist's Room, Dunedin

2014 - Group Show, 'Selfie's' Orexart Gallery, Auckland

2013 - Auckland Art Fair, Orexart Gallery, Auckland

2013 - Group Show, Roq La Rue, Seattle, USA

2013 - Article in the Los Angeles Post

2013 - Hi-Fructose Vol.26 - Feature and Interview with Kirsten Anderson

2012 - Solo show, 'Spindle', Orexart Gallery, Auckland

2012 - Review in the The New Zealand Herald by TJ McNamara 'Spindle' 2012, Solo show Orex Gallery

2012 - Finalist in the Adam Portraiture Awards, Wellington

2010 - 'A Portrait of Mary Shelley' was used as cover art on a collection of essays published by Cambridge Scholars Press.

2009 - Group Show, Temple Gallery, Dunedin

2009 - Review by James Dignan 'Every Painting is a way of saying goodbye' Group show Temple Gallery

2009 - Auckland Art Fair

2009 - Group show, 'Works on Paper', Orexart Gallery

2008 - Solo show, 'Art of Darkness', Orexart Gallery, Auckland

2008 - Review in the The New Zealand Herald by TJ McNamara 'Art of Darkness' 2008, Solo show Orex Gallery

2008 - Sunday Star Time Feature

2007 - Group show,Temple Gallery, Dunedin

2006 - Group show - Christmas, Temple Gallery, Dunedin

2006 - Group show - 'Discomposure', Temple Gallery, Dunedin

2005 - Solo show, The Artist's Room

2005 - House and Garden Magazine Feature

2004 - Solo shown, Moray Gallery

2000 - Graduated from Dunedin School of Art , New Zealand