‘Everything from the last four years has come together,’ says artist capturing Northampton’s iconic buildings

Sophie Slade has been dedicated to building her first collection since graduating from the University of Northampton and launched ‘Paint the Town in Colour’ shortly after her studies.

Sophie sells these paintings as prints, jigsaws and cards under her business Sophie Slade Art, and she also works on commissions. These are often of homes, wedding venues, businesses and the occasional pet portrait.

The artist held her first exhibition in the Grosvenor Centre at the start of November, which celebrated the landscapes, buildings and businesses that the town has to offer and her four years of hard work.

When asked how the exhibition went, Sophie said: “All the hard work paid off and everything from the past four years came together in one day. The feedback was great.

“It got some new people coming along who hadn’t seen my work before, and people who have been there for years were happy to see my art in person rather than online.”

Sophie said 2024 has been her “best year yet” after she achieved her main goal of hosting an exhibition. She already has a number of others booked in for 2025, including a month at V&B in March and 78 Derngate in June.

“My work supports other businesses around the town,” said Sophie, when asked what customers like most about her art. “I share things that are often overlooked and it makes people notice.”

As well as creating new paintings ahead of her upcoming exhibitions, Sophie would also like to host more workshops in the near future.

It was during her GCSE studies when Sophie discovered her passion for art, at a time when she was introverted and enjoyed focusing on her creations during and after the school day.

She knew that self employment was the way forward following her time at university, and was dedicated to finding a style that she could make a solid income from.

“I knew I wanted to use my love of colour that I found during university,” Sophie previously told the Chronicle & Echo. “There are so many nice places in Northampton that don’t get attention and I wanted to draw on the architecture.”

For more information, visit Sophie Slade Art on Instagram here.