Because Sara’s fondness for vibrant colour means this familiar figure at Worcester Lawn Tennis Club wouldn’t make it anywhere near the all-white dress code courts at SW19, no matter how screaming her serve or deft her drop shot.
But it’s right up the national department store’s street and JL has chosen two of her paintings to be launched as prints online and in selected stores as part of its new autumn winter collection of wall art and prints.
This is some accolade for the lady who has a studio alongside her husband and fellow artist Paul Powis in Battenhall, Worcester, as well as her artwork exhibited at The Cabin Studio & Gallery across town in the railway arches at 1, Netherton Court, near The Hive. Which was where I met her and wearing dazzling red and blue she was hard to miss.
The scene was set straightaway when Sara said: “Painting is my life. It has been my focus for over 40 years, with the travels I have been on, the exhibitions I have seen, the objects I have collected, all revealing themselves in my paintings.
“Every day in my studio I am experimenting with new ways to paint the objects before me. I find it deeply meditative. It is my passion and I don’t think I’ll ever stop being creative.”
She was born in Birmingham into an artistic family and after gaining A Level art at King Edward’s School, Edgbaston, went on to study at Bournville School of Art, the Ruskin School of Art in Oxford and the Royal College of Art.
Sara and Paul arrived in Worcester from London in 1988 and lived for 10 years in Diglis Road before moving to their current home in Battenhall in 1998, where they have both north and south facing studios to provide contrasting light conditions.
For anyone who struggles to complete a water colour of a single vase of flowers, it might seem strange that Sara can switch between working on up to four paintings at one time.
“I find it suits me to have several on the go at the same time,” she explained. “Moving from one to another keeps the paintings fresh.”
Her style has been strongly influenced by the printmaking process of layering and mark making she studied at the Royal College of Art.
The two paintings selected for John Lewis form part of Sara’s ongoing still life series.
She said: “I loved exploring the intimate beauty of the tulips, lemons, montbretia and pebbles in my studio. I use vibrant colour and energetic mark making to capture the vitality of these everyday objects. I try to incorporate contrasting patterns to create a lively composition. This might include spots, stripes and abstract designs. I hope these paintings will remind people of summer days.”
In the last year Sara has been “exploring the intimate beauty of everyday objects”.
Fruit and flowers from her garden, jugs and pebbles collected from her travels have all been painted in this lively new series.
“Now these framed prints can be hung on the walls to create a stylish look and enhance a room in an affordable way,” she added.
Both Sara and Paul have worked with John Lewis before as they were commissioned to create a series of large-scale seascape and landscape paintings for its instore restaurants in Solihull and Bristol.
The couple will also be taking part in Worcestershire Open Studios Art Week, which is on this year from August 16-25, when 167 artists and makers will open more than a hundred of their venues across the county, inviting the public to exhibitions, workshops and demonstrations.
With all that going on, who needs Emma Raducanu? New paintbrushes please!
