Artists, dancers, authors, entrepreneurs and the people behind some of the brands we work with inspire us every day. Each month, Colour Spotlight puts one of our clients in the hot seat, asking them three questions that dig deeper into their careers, latest ventures and future plans.
Talented artist Sophie Tea is one of the many artists who invited us into their art studios for Wimbledon Art Fair this weekend. Her latest collection,100 Nudes, is a collection of abstract paintings celebrating the human form. It was derived from 100 initial studies of 100 different shapes, studies and stories of diverse women aged between 20-75 years-old from all over the world including U.K, Australia, USA, Mexico, New Zealand, France, Croatia, Singapore. We caught up with the 27-year old artist about her journey so far, why she is on a mission to promote body confidence through art and her creative process.
How did you get into art?
After graduating in Business Management, I went travelling to India before I was due to start my grad job as a consultant. I was staying in a hostel in Jaipur and I was running out of money so I asked the manager if I could paint in exchange for free accommodation. He said yes and I painted for the first time since I was at school. It honestly made me so happy and I knew from that point on that I needed to pursue a creative path.
Tell us more about the 100 Nudes – Initial Studies collection?
My 100 nudes collection was launched to celebrate the start of painting the human form. I needed muses to start the project so I asked my Instagram audience. I encouraged any female who felt comfortable enough to ‘send nudes’ so I could use the images to paint from. I woke up the next morning to over 1,000 nude images across my Instagram and to my Whatsapp. I exhibited my pieces in London at the Wimbledon Art Fair and was very excited to see the reaction. It’s my favourite bit about being an artist.
What inspired this collection?
This collection was inspired by the relationship I’ve had with my own body which hasn’t always been positive. I want to celebrate the female form to help encourage people to believe that they are beautiful. Self-love is such an important thing to practise and it’s been something that I have been typically so bad at. Studying different women during this project and listening to their stories about their own pride and insecurities has been such a powerful experience for me. I’m on a mission now to promote a proud mindset of your body through the power of art.
Sophie Tea is an artist at Wimbledon Art Studios. For more information, visit https://www.wimbledonartstudios.co.uk/ and follow Sophie on Instagram @sophieteaart.