Whether it’s a fisherman’s cottage in Cullercoats or a chic Paris apartment, artist Sarah Sutherland can capture it with her unique illustrations. She talks to Ruth Addicott about her passion for drawing properties

TEN years ago, artist Sarah Sutherland was sitting under a tree in Malawi, using her illustrations as a guide to show people how to make crafts and escape poverty. Sarah, from Whitley Bay, travelled to developing countries all over the world and worked for the charity Traidcraft for six years, before settling back in the North-East to start a family. Now, with her daughters Sophie, five and Phoebe, eight, in school, she has turned to her creative skills once again and set up a sideline drawing properties.

The idea came about after Sarah did an illustration of a friend’s house, a little fisherman’s cottage in Cullercoats. Being a holiday cottage, her friend began using it on promotional cards and it wasn’t long before another friend saw it and asked Sarah if she could do one of her house too. She put it on Facebook and ever since, Sarah has been inundated with requests from people wanting pictures of their homes.

“I’ve always loved drawing and illustrating, but now I’d like to make a proper living out of it,” says Sarah. “People are very proud of their homes and very property-conscious and I’m trying to tap into that. It doesn’t have to be a building that’s eye-catching or a particularly special house. It can be a lovely Victorian terrace or anything that someone feels emotionally attached to.”

Sarah has done various houses, including a Paris apartment and the Ferris wheel on which a couple got engaged. She has also done football stadiums, a deli and a menswear shop in Tynemouth and Whitley Bay, as well as churches complete with the date of the wedding or special anniversary. “Pubs and hotels would also be nice to do. They could use the image to promote their business on menus and things,” she says.

Working from home gives Sarah the flexibility to work around school hours. Each picture usually takes between two to three days and the price varies from £60 to £150, depending on the size and whether it’s framed, a job she does herself.

Sarah always works from a photograph, either one that has been supplied or one she has taken herself. “There’s a lot more to it than meets the eye,” she says. “I have to measure it all up and normally do a slightly more complex drawing first to get the scale right, then I colour it on photoshop. It’s recognisable as the building, but it’s my impression of the building.”

Sarah spent most of childhood doodling and drawing pictures. Her ambition was to be a fashion designer and she studied fashion marketing at the University of Northumbria. After graduating, she designed bathroom and cosmetic accessories for M&S and The Body Shop, before becoming a product designer for Traidcraft.

She travelled throughout Asia, South America and Africa helping people in developing countries make the most of their craft skills and enabling them to earn an income by selling their products abroad.

“I worked in the slums in Lima and Nairobi.

It was really difficult at the start, there was a lot of poverty,” she says. “I also went to Malawi, I remember being out in this little African village, sitting under a tree making baskets with these wonderful people.

They had incredible skills, but weren’t in a position to market their products very well.

There was often a language issue and working one-to-one, I had to be able to illustrate what it was we wanted them to make, so I’d sit and draw for them.

“I remember one of my first trips when we went to Thailand. I was stuck in traffic for four hours with a friend because the road to the village was blocked. We said, we’re four hours late, we should cancel, but when we got there everyone was still there, they had sat and waited for us for four hours. They had made cakes and things for us to eat and were all waiting to start work. That sort of thing sticks in your mind. It was life-changing for us, but even more so for them, they really appreciated us being there.”

Although she stays in touch with her former colleagues, Sarah is now hoping her illustrations will be appreciated locally, both by business owners as well as ordinary people wanting a special souvenir of their home or a place that meant a lot to them.

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