British painter Sarah Graham was born in Hitchin, England in 1977 and works mostly with oil on canvas. She completed a BA (hons) in Fine Art from De Montfort University in Leicester 2000, and has been pursuing her passion ever since. From 2001 - 2007 she exhibited her work at independent art galleries and art fairs in the UK and overseas. Graham signed with a major UK fine art publisher in 2007 before her work became widely available as limited edition prints, alongside originals throughout the UK.
Her paintings are now in private collections across the world, in Europe, the USA, Australia, the Middle East, China and South Africa. Sarah Graham said " painting has been my first love for as long as I can remember. I started using oils from the age of 8 years old. I've always been interested in realism, and occasionally portraiture, some of my latest work now combines both the still life subjects and portraits." |
Black Jacks and Fruit Salads.
Sarah Graham's photograph of Black Jack and Fruit Salad sweets captivates the audience because there are many reflections due to the sweets being strategically placed on a mirrored finish surface. The mirrored surface also adds more light to the image as light bounces off it. The vivid colours from the Fruit Salad sweets also makes the photo more interesting and aesthetically pleasing. A blurred background helps the image blend together.
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Campervan.
This photo is unlike most of Sarah Graham's usual photographs as it is of a toy campervan, not sweets, which is her usual photographic theme. The Las Vegas style neon sign in the background is strongly blurred which makes the viewer focus on the orange campervan in the foreground. The campervan fills up most of the bottom left of the photo which means the photographer, Sarah Graham, intended the viewer to focus on this. Similar to majority of her photos, there is plenty of vivid colours, enhancing the image.
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Gumballs.
This photo, taken by Sarah Graham, is filled with colour and life. Following her usual sweet theme, it shows a bag of Gumball sweets on a shiny surface. This photo is very similar to the Black Jack and Fruit Salad sweets photo on the left as the objects have been placed on a mirrored surface which makes the photo much more interesting. The vivid use of colour captivates the viewer. The use of a mirrored surface also helps the image look better because the light bounces around the photo.
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Chupa Chups.
This photo by Sarah Graham is very engaging as it is full of colour. The vibrant colours, due to the vast amount of sweets used in this photo, engage the viewer making the photo very effective. The background is full of a variety of well known British sweets and the main focus is a Chupa Chubs lollipop. The background is slightly blurred which makes the viewer focus on the lollipop but the Refresher sweet in the middle ground makes the image flow together - not just having a front and back ground. |
Marbles.
This photo, taken by Sarah Graham, shows a number of marbles on a shiny, mirrored surface. The use of vivid colours make an engaging photo. The colours help to make the image interesting. The marbles in the foreground are meant to be the main focus of attention. I know this because the background of some other marbles is strongly blurred but still partially visible. |
Lollipops.
This photograph of a Swizzels' Double Lolly, taken by photographer Sarah Graham, keeps her usual theme of using vibrant colours and use of sweets. The blurred background of other lollipops shifts the viewer's focus onto the Double Lolly in the foreground. A drumstick lollipop can be seen on the right side of the photo in the middle ground. I was first attracted to this photo because the colours are very engaging and captivating. This connects to my work because the photo is of sweets and food is the theme that I am focussing on. |
Commissioned Work.
In 2012, Sarah was commissioned by British band Kaiser Chiefs to paint the album cover of their singles collection 'souvenir' which was released world wide. Also, some of her work is also owned by Standard Chartered Bank, who commissioned several pieces by Sarah, including a self- portrait, for their vast global collection of contemporary portraits. |