About Sarah
Sarah Collins is a freelance illustrator and designer working from a 17th century barn in the village of Wheathampstead in the Hertfordshire countryside.
She studied Fashion and Textiles at Birmingham before setting up her own design business in 1987. Since then, she has produced her own ranges of products and has been commissioned to design for a number of prominent giftware companies. Her work has been sold throughout the UK, by John Lewis, Harrods, Selfridges, Boots, WH Smiths, etc and has been seen in shops as far away as Australia and Japan.
Having started out selling her products at gift shops and craft fairs across the country, Sarah opened her own gift shop "The Barn", to deliver the sort of products and shopping experience that she herself had enjoyed so much. In addition to running The Barn, Sarah is currently focusing on paintings, which she sells privately and through local galleries and exhibitions.
Sarah has always been attracted to the bold use of colour and form and her distinctive child-like style has featured heavily in her work to date. For a few examples of her work, please see below.
To contact Sarah to commission paintings or design work, please send an email via the Contact Us section of the website.
Original Paintings: Seaside Collection
Following frequent trips to Aldeburgh and Southwold, Sarah set about recreating the old-world charm of both places in a collection of small works in acrylic.
Seaside Man - acrylic on paper 30cm x 40cm, framed - Sold
Harbour - acrylic on block canvas, 80cm x 30cm - Sold
Seaside Men in Boat - acrylic on paper, 30cm x 40 cm, framed - Sold
Coastline - acrylic on block canvas, 80cm x 30cm - Sold
Original Paintings: Quirky People Collection
An exhibition of Modigliani paintings at the National Portrait Gallery inspired Sarah to produce her own collection of quirky portraits of people she has known.
Young Lady - acrylic on paper 30cm x 40cm, framed - For sale
City Gent - acrylic on paper 30cm x 40cm, framed - For sale
Coffee Morning - acrylic on paper 30cm x 30cm, framed - For sale
Man & Vase - acrylic on paper 30cm x 60cm, framed - Sold
Original Paintings: People and Places
Sarah's cheerful and quirky perspective has attracted people to commission paintings of their homes, villages and important moments in their lives.
The Big House - acrylic on paper, 30cm x 60cm, framed - Sold
The Ball - acrylic on canvas block, 60cm x 30cm - Sold
Village Green - acrylic on paper, 40cm x 40cm - Sold
High Street - acrylic on paper, 30cm x 60cm - Sold
Original Paintings: Nudes Collection
As a break from commissioned designs, Sarah occasionally indulges herself in more traditional life images, producing large works in mixed media.
Man 1 - acrylic on canvas, 60cm x 90cm - For sale
Man 2 - acrylic on canvas, 60cm x 90cm - For sale
Nude 1 - mixed media, 40cm x 50cm, framed - For sale
Nude 2 - mixed media, 80cm x 110cm, framed - For sale
Designs & Commissions: Greetings Cards
Sarah has produced her own range of greetings cards based on her most popular artwork and paintings, for sale in the barn and by mail-order.
Celebration - blank cards celebrating births and mariages, 5" x 7", supplied with plain envelopes - In stock
Animals - blank cards with animal designs, 5" x 7", supplied with plain envelopes - In stock
Ayot & Wheathampstead - blank greeting cards with envelopes and prints of local villages - In stock
Ayot Village - blank greeting cards with envelopes and prints of Ayot village - In stock
Designs & Commissions: Stationery & Giftware
Sarah has been commissioned to design a wide range of products for prominent giftware company, Grumbridge, which have been distributed and sold world wide.
Animals - a collection of children's mats, coasters, mugs, tins and stationery.
Windowsill - a collection of kitchen tins, boards, aprons, coasters, mats and gloves.
Frogs - a collection of mugs, tins, bins and stationery featuring leaping frogs.
London - a collection of metal money boxes featuring London taxis, busses and telephone boxes.
Designs & Commissions: Corporate Imagery
A number of companies have been attracted to Sarah's style and have commissioned her to design exclusive images for them.
3M European Collection - a series of European images for 3M corporate merchandise.
3M European Collection - a series of European images for 3M corporate merchandise.
Pattacakes - logo and signage design for children's cookery company Pattacakes.
Medici - a series of cat illustrations to decorate gift stationery packs for the art company Medici.
Designs & Commissions: Tshirts & Bags
Sarah produced her own range of Tshirts and bags featuring her strong and colourful designs, which were sold in gift shops and craft fairs across the UK.
Children's Tshirts - cotton Tshirts for children hand printed with bright designs.
Adult Tshirts - cotton Tshirts printed with a wide range of Sarah's distinctive images.
Wash Bags - cotton zip, drawstring and fold-over wash bags with plastic liner.
Wash Bags - cotton zip, drawstring and fold-over wash bags with plastic liner.
