Sara Jane Walker

  Born in Edinburgh in 1974, Sarah-Jane studied at Manchester Metropolitan University where she achieved a first class BA honours degree in Textiles. Her final student show was a sell-out success and gave her the confidence to apply for a series of high-flying jobs. Her career in the textile industry developed, and culminated in a prestigious position as Design and Marketing Manager within a large Computer Aided Design company in Yorkshire.

Two children later, Sarah-Jane left the Dales for the south coast and formed a new company with her husband in the IT Design and Consultancy industry. It was here that inspiration struck: a great walker, she spent hours enjoying the spacious landscape and empty beaches, and on returning to her studio would feel the urge to share the beauty of what she had experienced. This led her to take up painting once more, and her light and airy compositions do indeed capture the moment just as she hoped.

Her background has given Sarah-Jane a unique grasp of texture and form; such an awareness works well with her choice of subject matter to create engaging contemporary interpretations of the British landscape. While the pastoral mood is serene, the technical execution is energetic - oil mixed with pastel, ink and pencil applied with a variety of tools - and this lends an air of dynamism to the finished image.

"My return to the coast has been the inspiration to return to my artist’s roots and to indulge my desire to paint. I like to hold images in my mind - fragments of clouds, solitary trees - and remember the emotions they triggered. I then endeavour to express those discovered feelings in each painting."

View Paintings by Sarah Jane Walker