Sophie Standing- Textile Artist

claire
May 12, 2016

claire

Impal, Sophie Standing

When we came across the work of Sophie Standing we were immediately drawn to the unique style she has developed in order to create these amazing animal portraits. Sophie has a broad knowledge of many techniques in the industry as she studied wood, metal, ceramics and textiles at Liverpool Hope University. It wasn’t until she graduated that she started experimenting with textile art to produce these works.

As all of her skills when it comes to sewing is self taught Sophie has gradually gained confidence when producing her designs. In a interview with aurifil.com she says

‘I have become far more expressive with my use of fabrics, using very bold flowers next to stripes and clashing abstract patterns.’

Hippo, Sophie Standing

Sophie grew up in Hampshire and for many years worked in England. In 2003 she moved to South Africa and now lives in Kenya. When moving, the inspiration to create wildlife animal portraiture started and along with her passion for textiles and Sophie was able to produce a gallery of animals and landscapes.

As seen in many of her designs Sophie is not afraid to use bold patterns or colours. We particularly like how she has transformed the more masculine, gray toned animals like the elephant. As you can see ‘Satao’ has definitely been given a vibrant personality as Sophie has layered patterned fabric and lots of colour over his body!

Satao, Sophie Standing

This style of work is predominantly made using a sewing machine using the free motion and darning foot. Sophie starts her pieces by sketching or painting the image onto fabric to create boundaries in order for the animal or landscape to look realistic when pattern and colour is added on top.

In process – Black Rhino, Sophie Standing

Layering is key in Sophie’s work and it’s not until you take a closer look at the designs that you see the mixture of fabric, machine embroidery and paint used.