Sarah graduated from Falmouth College of Art with a first-class honours degree in Fine Art Painting and has been a full-time, self-employed painter ever since. For over twenty years, she has worked from her Brighton studio, creating paintings that balance mystery, sensitivity, and a deep connection to storytelling.

Her work is held in many collections, including those of Ronnie Wood and one of her own musical heroes, Thom Yorke, and has appeared on album covers such as Daughter’s 2016 release Not to Disappear. Over the years, Sarah has received multiple awards including first prize with the prestigious British Women Artists competition and in 2025 she was nominated by L & S Printing for Artist of the Year within the Brighton Open Houses event.

You can see her work and cv here: www.sarahshaw.co.uk

‘The Stolen Orange’ is a collaboration with her partner, Hal Maughan. The two met at art college in Falmouth, where Hal happened upon Brian Patten reading from his book Love Poems. Years later, for Sarah’s birthday in 2015, Hal wrote to Brian asking him to sign the book. Patten responded with a remarkable gesture: along with his signature, he added a hand-written, never-published poem at the back — something they only discovered months later.

That quiet act of generosity, the beauty of the poems, and their resonance in a time of deep fracture have become the foundation of this forthcoming exhibition, inspired by Patten’s The Stolen Orange. Long-time friend and fellow creative Anthony de Brissac, along with family and friends, are helping to shape the project into something truly special — a celebration of joy as an act of resistance.