Sarah Aspinall

Paintings by the highly respected artist Sarah Aspinall, combine a pre-Raphaelite palette with an absolute understanding of the horse. In both her classic portraiture and her looser, more expressive work, Sarah's aim is to capture the subtleties of each horse's character, whilst keeping the anatomy correct.

Starting her painting career with a B.A.Hons and an M.A. degree at St .Martin's School of Art, London, Sarah then moved to Rome. Surrounded by art and history, Sarah spent the next 10 years developing her own style in painting. Receiving many racing commissions, she was nominated the official artist for the Italian Jockey Club. She also spent a great deal of this period working in art restoration. "...working as a restorer on Old Master paintings was an extraordinary privilege, and a great learning curve", says Sarah.

On moving back to England, Sarah was able to exhibit more frequently with The Osborne Studio Gallery, and is their sole commissions-only artist. An ever-growing list of collectors bears testament to Sarah's popularity as one of the Gallery's foremost equine artists.

Under the patronage of Sir Peter O'Sullevan, Sarah produced the painting "The Three Winter Kings" for last year's Charitable Trust Christmas card and limited edition print, which has introduced her work to a wider audience.

Sarah remains very much a "hands on" painter, believing that a period of physical contact with the horse is vital prior to beginning a painting. "To run my hands over muscle, bone and skin helps to build up an honest translation of the animal onto canvas"

Sarah lives and works in Sussex, and when not in the studio, is to be found riding her much loved mare over the Sussex Downs!