It started as a way to document the foods she loved. Combining her two passions: food and drawing, saw Sara Brenton (@sara_brenton) spend three years as a travelling artist, sampling some of the world’s best foods before dipping into the watercolours to bring her ideas to life.

Whether you love the bright colours, the yummy food or the whole lot, her art is both delicate and delicious, ranging from fairy bread to sushi and everything in between. We uncovered more about Sara’s art, how she got started and where she creates her appetising designs.

Tell us a bit about yourself!

I’m from Australia and have spent the past 3 years as a travelling artist. I had a trailer custom-made to be my studio so I could keep working whilst travelling.

How did you discover your creativity? Was it a gradual process or a surprise discovery?

I was in university studying graphic design, but I knew I wanted a more creative outlet. So, I bought some art supplies and drew and painted in the evenings. My art career grew from there once I started taking on commissions. 

Your work is inspired by food, how do you decide what to create?

I started out painting food pieces based on meals I loved that I’d eaten in restaurants around Melbourne. It was my way of blogging my food experiences. And if I paint food for a recipe, it’s always foods I love to make. Food brings me joy, as does painting, so combining the two really makes me happy.

What are you most proud of creating?

I recently completed four jigsaw puzzle designs for One But Many Puzzles. The Fairy Bread design won an award last year and that just makes me so excited!

How do you steer a project that isn’t working?

If I have time, I put that project on the back burner. If something isn’t gelling for me, I’m only going to get frustrated by keeping going. I have a folder of abandoned projects that I love going back to. Sometimes I really love what I had done previously and keep going with it, and other times I’ll completely restart it. But if I don’t have time, or it’s for a client, I leave it until the next morning. Coming back to a project with a fresh mind usually helps. 

What would you tell your younger self?

Hang onto your confidence!

Where do you create? What’s your creative space look like?

I used to have a custom-made trailer for my studio. My husband and I towed it all around Australia. Within the trailer, everything had its place. It was perfect. Now that international travel is allowed again, we’re spending a few months in South East Asia, so my studio is whichever hotel room we’re in, and my art supplies have been reduced to some pan watercolours, a pad of watercolour paper and some watercolour pencils!

Sounds like the dream! Let’s talk products, what’s your favourite Mont Marte product? 

The Mont Marte Woodless Watercolour Pencils. They’re so versatile. I use them as a pencil, but when I want to use them in a broader area or mix colours, I use a pencil sharpener and put the shavings into a mixing pan and add water. Voila! Paint!

It's a Friday night and we're coming around for dinner! What would you cook us?

I love making friends foods that get assembled at the table. For example, bao buns with all sorts of ingredients, tacos or Vietnamese spring rolls. That way everyone can choose exactly what they’d like to eat. 

What’s next? What are you looking forward to in the future?

I absolutely love travelling and plan to do lots of that. I’d love to work on some travel illustrations based on places I’ve been and see where that takes me.

We hope that you feel inspired by watercolour artist, Sara Brenton. You can find more on Sara’s art here or check out more of our featured artists.

Or looking for regular inspo? Receive regular projects, ideas, tips and tricks straight to your inbox! Join our Creative Community by scrolling to the bottom of our website and popping in your email, too easy!