Sarah takes up Gallery studio

A new artist will now be based at a North Northumberland gallery.

Sarah Farooqi will be taking up residence at Gallery Forty5 in Felton.

Sarah grew up in Teesside and studied graphics and illustration at Leeds Metropolitan University.

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She has worked as a graphic designer and primary teacher, but for the last eight years has worked as an artist and illustrator.

Her preferred medium is watercolour and she loves to paint landscapes, townscapes and illustrated maps.

They begin as pen drawings and evolve into busy, layered compositions which reflect her love of detail and colour.

Much of her work is commissioned; she has produced maps for The National Trust, Alnwick Garden and Howick Hall.

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Sarah said: “‘I am really happy to be joining the artistic community at Gallery Forty5 and am loving having such a beautiful space to work in.”

Sarah will be based in Studio Four at the Gallery and her studio will be open on a regular basis.

She added: “I studied graphic design/illustration at Leeds, then dabbled with animation and spent time as a graphic designer in corporate television, but didn’t really take to that so I trained and worked as a primary teacher until I had my own family.

“One day I agreed to take on an art project in my local school.

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“I enjoyed it, but had to stop myself from grabbing the paintbrushes off the children and doing it myself, so I took up drawing again and haven’t looked back.

“Now I work as an artist specialising in landscapes, townscapes and illustrated maps.

“My studio is our dining room table and my favourite place to be is the North West coast of Scotland, staring into a rock pool in a pair of wellies.

“From an initial pen drawing my pictures evolve into busy, layered collages reflecting my love of detail and colour, and hopefully a sense of fun.

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“At any point I am likely to chop them up and change or add bits.

“This is why I have been known to attend parent’s evening with a tiny lamp post stuck to my elbow or a sheep on the bottom of my shoe.”

Sarah will be selling a selection of her work from her studio as well as taking commissions.

To welcome Sarah to Felton’s Gallery Forty5 there will be an Open Studios event on Saturday.

And as an added bonus the gallery will be offering a 20 per cent discount on everything for sale in the shop.