First featured in Hi-Fructose Vol. 26, Dunedin, New Zealand based artist Sarah Dolby has always created character driven portraits. Her paintings combine aspects of traditional portraiture with her own whimsical narrative. In her most recent work, Dolby has been exploring concepts such as time, anxiety, nature and death and the challenging role these play in our lives. “My internal world is quite chaotic,” she says, “and I often only find peace when trying to make sense of this through my work.” In one of her new paintings, “Candy Land”, Dolby portrays the juxtaposition between the strength and fragility that exists within us as individuals and as a greater species. Dressed in bright red with candy-striped tentacle like hair and flushed cheeks, on the outside, she shares many qualities with her fellow Fairytale archetypes. From Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother to dark and haunting damsels-in-distress, her subjects intimately confront us with their fierce beauty. However, there is a newness about her new heroine as she also represents our ability to evolve when life’s challenges affect us. She will exhibit the piece in Corey Helford Gallery’s group show “Between Worlds” opening in October, and more works in her upcoming solo show at Orex Gallery in November.
Canadian-born artist 
Mixed media artist