Sophie works in oils on canvas using mixed media based on themes of nostalgic maternal images of childhood lost.  Her work is best known for her sentimental portrayal of domestic life, but she explores too the contemporary struggle between motherhood and identity.  Her paintings are reminiscent of 17th century Dutch portraits of children infused with overtones of Australian rural culture.

“My childhood in rural Victoria as the middle of five children was a noisy, vivid and the happy time filled with the overflowing hotch potch of family life in the country.”

Sophie’s works include mixed media such as old linoleum, manila tags, childrens’ story books and postage stamps, which are directly applied to the canvas. 

“The faces of the children in my paintings are obscured as it was not the intention for them to be conventional portraits but rather fleeting impressions of youth and childhood memory, rather than of the individuals themselves.”

Sophie studied fashion and textile design at Sydney College of the Arts and worked for five years as a textile designer. She then studied at the National Arts School (Sydney) and graduated in 1996 with a degree in Fine Arts.  She has had several sell-out, solo exhibitions in Sydney and her talent was sought after at Art Brisbane in February 2008.