Sarah Beth Hsieh
London, England
Sarah Beth Hsieh is an artist/illustrator originally from Nashville, TN. Growing up, she spent most of her time drawing horses and writing stories with quirky female characters. She received her BFA in Nashville at Belmont University, where she studied Fine Art, with an emphasis in painting and drawing. At that point in her life, her subject matter had become a bit more sophisticated – landscapes and portraits, but with the occasional appearance of a Downton Abbey or Pride and Prejudice character.
After graduating college, Hsieh spent a brief spell working at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. She enjoyed her time there however, her dream job at Disney (animator) and her actual job at Disney (cashier at a restaurant called “Restaurantosaurus”) didn’t quite match up. Her love of art continued to grow, and it was upon her return to Nashville that she decided to change direction. She joined the MA in Children’s Book Illustration at Cambridge School of Art; living and studying in England for two years. After obtaining her MA, Hsieh fell into painting her surroundings; mostly en plein air, in addition to writing and illustrating children’s books.
Architectural paintings are her current obsession. Hsieh loves depicting structures that are familiar to her (like the colleges in Cambridge or the cathedrals in Florence) as well as places that are special to other people. She creates these whimsical architectural illustrations in a painterly style; using mostly gouache and watercolor, with the additional colored pencil. Hsieh currently resides in London, England with her husband, whom she met while studying abroad. She continues to create new work giving artistic representation to the world around her.
Want to hear more about Sarah Beth? Check out the video interview from when she was our Artist of the Month!
