Sarah Kaye Harrison

I’ve always been arty and was accepted at art college, but instead opted to take a tv runner job which led to a 20+ year career producing commercials and corporate films, and working as a voiceover artist in London. Art very much took a backseat.

During lockdown I introduced some potted plants to my new, bare garden. I loved watching the flowers grow and the wildlife exploring amongst them. I was especially attracted to bees, which I photographed daily in detail. I started painting from the photos, and my cousin encouraged us to enter the “Explorers Against Extinction” competition as a lockdown activity. I painted a very loose image of a bee amongst my flowers, which I never planned to submit, however it ended up shortlisted as ‘Best Artist’ and ‘Best Picture’, and was exhibited and sold at Oxo Gallery, London. A new chapter opened for me as I started to rediscover art again. I now paint weekly at a local studio with a teacher in Bridport, take commissions and have been raising money for charity with various designs. Creating art either feels like peaceful meditation, or it challenges me to express and make energised, more ‘rebellious’ marks… depending on the mood that takes me! I’m constantly now looking at the stimulus surrounding me – stunning Dorset landscapes, animals, colours, ‘moments’ and love playing through art to capture an essence of whatever I see. The more imperfect and irregular the marks, the more I usually enjoy making them!