Welcome to my website
I hope you will enjoy browsing through the collection of paintings and that you’ll feel confident to commission a piece of work.
Zara began drawing at an early age and won an art prize for a still -life drawing at Windlesham House prep School, and got an A grade in Art at A Level at St. Edwards School,Oxford.
Zara is classically trained in Fine Art at Charles. H. Cecil Studios, in Florence , Italy , where She trained for three years to become a portrait artist. In 1993, Zara moved from Florence to Norwich, in order to study for a degree , in Art History from the University of East Anglia where she thrived. Here She studied for a degree in Museology and World Art Studies, at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts. The collections represent ” some of the most remarkable works of art assembled in the UK.” Outstanding Examples of European art include Giacometti, Degas, Picasso, Moore and Modigliani.
Since 1993 Zara’s portrait work has been defined by her disciplined academic painting practise, reflecting her passion for the Old Masters and early twentieth century realist painters George Bellows and Joachim Sorolla. Since her art training in Florence at Charles Cecil studios, a traditional atelier style training in the sight -size technique, with its core roots going back to 19th century Paris, to the studios of Sargent and Carolus Duran. She explains, ” My first portrait commission to paint the Lord Denman was done whilst I was a student at UEA. I captured the essence and character of my sitter and the success of this portrait led me to being asked to paint numerous other portrait commissions including , the High Sheriff of East Sussex. I also worked for Blandy Bros , Madeira.”
Zara has exhibited in numerous group shows and shown her work in Cork street, London. Most recently, She was commissioned to draw David Bowerman Esq, of Champs Hill, this can be seen on the Adults portraits page on this site. Most recently, she finished six life size portraits in red chalk of the Denman family in 2015.
Zara began to work doing portraits of children in 1998 after visiting the British museum where she was inspired by the work of Frederick Lord Leighton.
Zara says, ” My Cornish landscape colour paintings are a very personal take on the landscape of North Cornwall and my childhood with a more contemporary flavour. Memory, visualisation and the imagination are the main themes that resonate here.”
For free advise on portrait commissions, all ages, London or country, please contact Zara direct on 01798343161.
