Meet The Local Artist Bringing a Pop of Colour to The North East

A serial doodler since she was a child, Sofia’s mother was remarkably understanding of her passion. ‘When I was little I was always drawing. I grew up in quite a rough area at the time in Benwell, and I was always drawing on the walls,’ she says. ‘My mum let me because she wanted to change the wallpaper! Since then I just started drawing to relax because my dad wasn’t well and there were lots of things going on around me, so it was a relief to draw.’

Leaving art behind her when she went to study in Edinburgh, Sofia did not rediscover her love of it until she herself became a mum. ‘I moved back home and met my husband who was a friend of mine from childhood and we had a child. It was from being in motherhood that I really started painting again and reconnected with drawing,’ she explains. ‘I was really lucky because I found a lovely community of artists in the North East to work with and I hadn’t had that in Edinburgh. They were all really supportive and I did my first residency in 2018, and have built up since then.’

Whether it’s on a matchbox or as a mural, Sofia’s work is eye-catching no matter where you see it, with bold colours bringing the work to life. ‘I think my style is really influenced by my mum’s Pakistani side. The way they draw in Pakistan and India is very colourful, and they always do a black outline – I’ve noticed I do that too,’ she says. ‘I’ve obviously seen that growing up and I keep coming back to it and finding it in my art. I didn’t realise that was what I was doing with the colours at first, and then it came to me later when I was showing my mum and she said “I taught you how to draw that flower”.’

Using a matchbox as a canvas, Sofia chooses some of the region’s most scenic spots to inspire her work. ‘I was thinking about how I could evolve my work and started looking at some of the matchboxes that my dad still had from my grandad. I remembered how he used to chain smoke, and those boxes had weird animals on them, and that imagery stuck with me. It’s that connection to my identity,’ she explains. Her murals too rely heavily on heritage. ‘Mural work for me is a bit like looking at a puzzle and putting all the pieces together. For the one in Stockton I looked at the history of the place and the colours I put together are symbolic. For the Metro artwork I wanted to showcase the hidden histories of the North East for people on their journeys.’

For Sofia, using the local area as inspiration for her work was a no-brainer. ‘The area is really naturally beautiful, and we have such a lovely landscape right next to the coast. I think nature pushes though and has a really strong influence on what I do. But I also think it’s the people who come over and give you encouragement, and have that Northern spirit. It’s the local phrases that I put into my work because I hear them over and over and it’s really heartwarming. I hope it gives them a bit of happiness and uplifts them, or helps them in someway.’

To explore more of Sofia’s work on Esty visit SofiaBartonArt
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QUICK-FIRE QUESTIONS

Tell us your favourite hidden gem in the area.
Kielder Observatory.

Where’s your favourite spot for lunch?
Ernest in Ouseburn.

Do you have a favourite local artist?
That’s a tough one because I’m friends with a lot of them!