Sophie Wake graduated from Brighton University, with a BA Hons in Graphic Design / Illustration and worked for many years as a busy freelance illustrator. Today, her fine art practice responds to the rhythms of meditation and ancient tree tea ceremony which has become a fundamental companion to her creative approach.
SOPHIES PRACTICE:
Working from her studio in Rattery, Devon, she channels her imagination through quiet reflection. Guided by direct somatic experience her work tends to be instinctive and intuitive, each piece an automatic process of deep self enquiry. Working with oil on canvas or gouache on paper, imbuing a liminal quality, a sense of in-betweenness my process delights in an intangible wordlessness. Sophies fine art practice has become suffused with my spiritual practice. Any subject matter is treated as divine, iconic, and is free to dance, uninhibited in its own light. Influences of Shamanism, African rock art, Ancient clay models, and Greek pottery are channeled throughout the collections, which celebrate the power of basic human emotion in simple and authentic forms.
AWARDS
In 2017 Sophie took part in Brighton’s Artists Open Houses, a cornerstone of the Brighton festival and was shortlisted for 3 Artists Open House Awards, winning Best Newcomer. In 2018 her painting HERD was hand selected by Grayson Perry for the Royal Academy’s 250th Summer Exhibition, where it appeared in his hand-curated Yellow Room. In 2019 she won Best Artists Open House and was commended for the Sol Design ‘Creative Celebration’ award. Sophie was then cover artist for the 2020 Winter Festival brochure with my piece, HOPE.
Size: 10 x 14.7