The Artist

At school, Dumfries Academy, I loved art but I also, weirdly, enjoyed maths and physics, so at 17 I went with my head and chose a career path into engineering.

I studied in the city of Edinburgh and achieved an honours degree in Electrical and Electronic engineering, before moving to London to start a 16-year career in NATS.

Returning to Scotland I helped deliver a new air traffic control centre and this success heralded my first career change establishing an event management company Sarah’s Creative Occasions.

I joined the Robinwood Art School in Alloway in 2016 where I learnt colour theory, a variety of mixed media techniques and fell in love with the movement of water mixable oil paint.

2021 was the right time for career change number two and the opportunity to fulfil my passion full-time with Sarah Louise Artist.

In 2024 I launched Wigtownshire Artists & Makers, a group of professional practising, retired and rising artists and makers across Wigtownshire who learn, encourage, share and inspire each other.

I am a Chartered Engineer with the Institution of Engineering and Technology and also a professional member of the following creative organisations:

• Upland CIC visual art and craft development organisation
• Scottish Artists Union
• Society of Scottish Artists
• Dumfries and Galloway Fine Arts Society

I live with my husband and miniature Dachshund in a stone cottage in Wigtownshire, just one mile beyond the historic Torhouse Stone Circle.

When I am not painting I can be found pottering in the garden, walking, practicing yoga or packing bags for our next adventure.

ARTIST STATEMENT

There are so many breath taking scenes in south-west Scotland from rugged coastlines and lighthouses to swathes of farmland and the dramatic light in our skies.  I generally work from photos which is more practical and allows me to work creatively in the comfort of my dedicated garden room studio. Although I often use my own pictures I also have working arrangements with local professional photographers who take superb drone images from above.

My tool of choice is a flat headed brush to create the layered horizontals of the land and sea in water mixable oil paint.  I love mixing a fresh colour palette and tend to spend more time mixing the right colours so that when I’m ready to add the paint to the canvas I work quickly.  Purple is my best friend as it creates a great dark tone without the need for any black in my paintings.  I go against the norm of having the cleanest studio ever and undertake a clean down at the end of each day using a spatula to move my left-over paint into an air-tight container.