I have always loved nature, animals and the wondrous beauty of Mother Earth. I was very lucky to grow up spending a lot of my time in a forest, which I used to happily amuse myself in for hours at a time.
I suppose my artistic skills come partly from being in my blood, and also my background. I have wonderfully creative parents, who like me love everything to do with nature, and I am blessed that I was exposed to art, animals and nature at a very young age.
My Great Uncle, John Strevens, was a self-taught famous painter, and my Grandfather worked with etching and Lino throughout his life. My dad tells me that Grandad would carve a Lino and print it every year for Christmas cards.
After using a lot of Lino for my GCSEs, I focused on Ceramics for my A ‘Levels. After that, I didn’t pick up any Lino again for a few decades. I reignited my love of using Lino again around 2015 when I decided to make a Christmas card, and it’s gone on from there. What l love about Lino is the accessibility of it; anyone can try as it's easy to get hold of basic kits, and it’s not expensive.
Most of my prints are from photos I’ve taken of flowers, trees, and the nature around me. I am inspired by what I see, the beauty of nature and its energy, which I then translate into my designs and prints.
In 2014, I trained as Reiki Practitioner, it was something I’d always wanted to do, and aligns with my beliefs, and is wonderful to work with. See my Reiki page for more information.
You can follow me on Instagram @lino_by_sophie.