Sarah Darby is a contemporary figurative oil painter working from life in her attic studio under natural light or en-plein air in the Cotswolds. Her paintings are about honest observation. Whilst exploring the subtle tonal relationships of colour and light, she endeavours to interpret what she sees as true to nature in a painterly yet refined way.

With a first-class degree in Fine Art Sarah travelled extensively before returning to the UK to work as a children’s book designer and art director for an Oxford publisher. Whilst she loves painting landscapes en-plein air, during lockdown still life painting became a great focus, using various ‘props’ collected on her travels that held some form of significance. Often spending a couple of hours setting up her still life compositions, Sarah’s painting is about the treatment of light and how it falls on a subject. She finds painting a never-ending source of joy and particularly delights in painting the reflections on silver or glass, exploring the tonal contrasts and making colours sing.