About me

Sarah Nelson (b.1966, Sunderland) captures an energy and dynamic gesture within movement by drawing live, directly from a moving subject. Sarah is influenced by her previous work as theatrical set designer.

Taking a studio in an Upper Dales livestock auction mart was a serendipitous introduction to the performative aspect of sale days: Within this setting, Sarah records shapes of interaction, by rapid fluid mark making, becoming absorbed in the performance. Through her joyful charcoal drawings, she offers the viewer a unique and intimate experience of what it might feel like to be there. Sarah’s lively drawings stand as works in their own right whilst also serving as vibrant inspiration for her studio practice.

Sarah Nelson studied BA Hons Theatre Design at The Central, St Martins School of Art & Design, London. Sarah worked as a Set Designer and Art Director for theatre and television then was expat for a decade, in the Middle East, with her young family. Returning to the UK in 2015, to Rye, a home on a coastal nature reserve inspired her to begin painting and printmaking. Sarah exhibited widely in the South of England, becoming a member of SoCo (South East Coast Artists) and in 2022, during her Turps Banana correspondence year, her work was selected for the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition and also ‘A Generous Space’ with Artists Support Pledge at Hastings Contemporary.

Having recently returned to her roots, to the North East, Sarah is currently building her own hempcrete home/studio where she aims to establish a creative rural hub akin to Li Yuan-chia’s LYC Gallery in Cumbria