RECENT WORK:

Examples of Recent Work:

Garden Paintings: Following the traditional techniques of early renaissance artists such as Filippo Lippi and Simone Martini, these are small devotional paintings using egg tempera on wood with traditional gesso. These paintings are Sophie’s response to digging up the tarmac on her front drive and turning it into a garden. Watching the life that has come from doing this has been an experience which she would argue resonates with the wonder visible in the religious paintings of the Renaissance. The egg yolk in the tempera comes from her chickens, a little bit of garden inside each of the paintings.

The Garden IV, 2026, Egg tempera on wood.

The Garden I, 2026, Egg tempera on wood.

Blankets: Sophie’s textile works or ‘blankets’ use a mordanted canvas to document her experiences within the landscape. The blankets act as both a traditional canvas holding pigments she processes from plants and minerals and as an intermediary between her body and the world (see photo above). The accumulative residue of marks stain the canvas and over a long period of time build a map that tracks her relationships with the land around her.

These works eventually come back into the studio where materials from her domestic landscape become part of the works as well.

Becoming Animal, 2024, 177 x 127 cm, Madder, hawthorn, oak galls, acorns, iron, clay pigments, house paint, children’s crayons, rose petals, river and rain water, sun bleached, soil, alder, blackberry, charcoal, ash, rust, found chalk, etc etc on canvas. The bottom is sewn up with dried rose hips.

Untitled, Calendula, tulips, coriander, corn flowers, poppy, mugwort oil, oxygen bleach, valerian, iron, children’s colour pencils, soil, sand, clay, sunshine, river water, candle wax, frankincense, footprints, leached carpet dye, rose petals, fire smoke, vodka, sap, swallow droppings, dust, nails etc

Bag of herbs, 2023, 46 x 54 cm, calendula, tulips, coriander, cornflower, poppy, mugwort oil, oxygen bleach, valerian, iron, children’s colour pencils, soil, sand, clay, sunshine, river water, candle wax, frankincense, footprints, carpet dye, rose petals, smoke, vodka, sap, swallow droppings, dust, st john’s wort.

Summer II, 2025, Avocados, rust, house paint, ochres, clay, river water, sea salt, pine resin, madder root, alchemilla dew, calendula ink, charred wood, washing powder, ash, brick dust, rescue remedy, bark rubbing, pine cones, rain water etc on canvas.

Clusters, Suitcases, Flap Paintings: The paintings from this series came from a desire to create smaller works that included both the natural and man made materials that now infiltrate the landscapes around us.

Most of these paintings are on handmade boxes of wood that contain both non-recyclable materials and natural objects found by me and my child. The thinking being that they become a kind of time capsule, altar and bin all at once.

Cluster II, 2024, Dimensions Variable, Marshmallow leaves, river clay, compost, pastels, house brick, ochre, hawthorn, top soil, worm castings, children’s paint, toothbrush head, nail varnish, cleaning vinegar, paracetamol, vitamins, rust, pencil, thyroxin, pva glue, saliva, tipp-ex, silver birch bark, crushed cockle shells, st john’s wort oil, ash leaves, chamomile flowers, bandage, honey comb, bean seeds, found chalk, acorns, calendula flowers, painted ceramic pots on wooden boxes filled with flowers and non recyclable waste.

Still Life, 2023, Dimensions Variable, Air dry clay, river clay, sandpit sand, beach sand, hot chocolate, food colouring, rescue remedy, sun cream, fennel seeds, chamomile, rose petals, blackberry, children’s clothing, craft paint, felt tips, vitamins, pva glue, milk, nappy rash cream, house paint, ground roof tiles, coffee, pastels, hundreds and thousands, thyroxin, plant hormone, marble, acorn cups, cup, vase, cockle shell, stones, bean seed, chalk, madder, rust on filled wooden boxes.

Selected Archive:

Solo

Examples of Recent Work: