About Sarah
Illustrating at weddings and social events since 1998
I have been drawing for longer than I can remember, and it has always been people that I loved drawing most.
At home we were supplied with pens, pencils and paper which I filled with sketches of figures, usually in costume, often inspired by books and films, as well as observations of the people around me.
Art school was the only place I wanted to be, and well before my Foundation course I knew that Fine Art was the only course I wanted to take.
It was fantastic to have the space and materials to make large paintings when I was a student, but I could see that the best of my work was hidden in personal sketchbooks.
I first had the idea for drawing at weddings when it occurred to me that a wedding day, with all the different elements to the day’s celebrations could be a lovely way to share my visual story-telling skills as well as capturing one of life’s most important events as a unique keepsake for a couple.
When I heard that a friend of a friend was getting married I asked whether I could try out my idea. The response to the drawings was overwhelming and shortly afterwards an article in Brides Magazine launched my Guest Artist-in-Residence concept.
The enjoyment for me is in capturing the essence of a wedding by being on the look-out for the smallest details, keeping my ears open for snippets of conversation to add to the drawings and most of all, the challenge of capturing likenesses.
This comes from my background in Fine Art where my particular interest has always been in portraiture and self-portraiture.
My work has been selected for exhibitions such as the Royal Society of Portrait Painters, the National Portrait Gallery’s BP Portrait Award, the Ruth Borchard Self Portrait Prize Exhibition, the New English Art Club and Bath Society of Artists, to which I was elected as a member in 2022.
The pleasure of doing what I do best and being able to share that is such a privilege, especially when the couples receive their portfolio of drawings and tell me that the words and pictures include moments they hadn’t been aware of in the whirlwind of the wedding day.
I have been attending weddings as an illustrator for over twenty-five years, during which time live event work has taken me from my home in Somerset to all corners of the UK and as far as Spain and the US.
I’ve drawn at country and city weddings, intimate and large weddings; in castles, barns, country houses, hotels, marquees, cosy pubs and private clubs. But whatever the style and scale of the event, they all have one thing in common: it’s a huge honour to be part of a family’s most special day.