Sara Melly

I am a former clinical psychologist, now a painter and visual artist, living and working in the UK.

I loved my work as a psychologist and therapist in the NHS and Ministry of Defence, but working with people in distress takes its toll and I knew that I wanted to nurture a more creative side to myself rather than risk burning out with vicarious trauma. Therefore, I re-trained by studying painting at the Heatherley School of Art from 2018 to 2022. Initially studying portraiture then broadening out the range of my subject matter and studying figurative painting.

My current work is influenced by my former career. Sometimes the influence is direct in that the subject matter relates to the people I worked and the experiences I tried to help them come to terms with, such as the soldiers coping with PTSD. Sometimes the influence of being a psychologist is indirect in that the images I construct are about the subject’s internal state. Quite what is going on remains unknown, reality and unreality can co-exist, but the feeling or emotion is the predominant subject.

My paintings incorporate images of adults and, often, children in environments which evoke disquiet or menace. I try to use paint and print to convey how it is possible to feel...

Portraiture Diploma, Heatherley School of Fine Art, 2018-2021
Post Dip in Figurative Painting, Heatherley School of Fine Art, 2021-2022