Sarah Papworth ARTIST CV

Born in Chertsey, Surrey, in 1980, Sarah Papworth developed her artistic skills from a young age, taking art subjects throughout her school years. She completed a Foundation year in Fine Art before pursuing a degree in Textile Design at Winchester School of Art, where she graduated with First Class Honours in 2002, and specialising in Printed Textiles. Sarah went on to work as a Homeware Designer for nine years before relocating to the North Cotswolds in 2012. There, she transitioned into freelancing, working from home on illustration projects for prestigious clients such as The Washington Post, L’Oréal, HarperCollins, and Simon & Schuster. In 2020, Sarah began to explore the world of fine art and began painting in her spare time.

Now based near Broadway in Worcestershire, Sarah started sharing her artwork with the public in 2023 and in 2026 works part-time through the week on her art.

Artist Statement: Sarah Papworth

I enjoy the journey of painting, celebrating colour and shape relationships I find within the process. By constantly reworking lines and textures, I am able to build new unplanned happy surprises.

Nature, particularly wild land, sea and overgrown forgotten areas pull me back to the canvas. Making their way into my work through texture, colour and feeling. I work abstractly, but occasionally a picture comes through in the shapes and composition and I go with it. Or I sometimes sketch more realistically, only to want to further the work by abstracting it. Simplifying in this way feels like I’m getting to the core of the language as to why an arrangement or scene speaks to us as humans. I have been working on some florals recently, as a way to merge my illustration work with my paintings and to see where that takes me.

I use old decorating brushes, forks and sticks to achieve the textures I prefer. I also enjoy using graphite pencil and artist crayons alongside the acrylic paint to achieve a softer language.

My wish is to connect with my inner-self, and through that connect with others, nature and the universe.

Exhibitions & Galleries

The House of Smalls, Chipping Campden. Group show: ‘The Time of Her Life III’. July 2023

Honeybourne Pottery, Evesham. May 2024.

Publications

Artist & Illustrators Magazine