Sophia is British - schooled in Oxford, a mixed media artist and photographer, working with both large and small abstract paintings and photography. Born into a family of English painters, and publishers, summers were spent surfing at her grandmother`s house in Cornwall, her parents dividing their time between there and London.
She had a long photographic modeling career under her maiden name, Sophie Batsford, made over 150 TV commercials for Europe and USA, plus magazines and editorial.
Early days...Art school, BFA London... bartender/cook in Mallorca, Spain...ran the nightclub on a cruise ship cruising the Mediterranean, sailing from South Africa to South America. After modeling Sophia was a stylist on TV commercials in England, and worked with Stanley Kubrick as production buyer in the art department on "Eyes Wide Shut". Throughout this time she worked as an artist, always painting, writing, and taking photographs. All spare time spent in her parents studios or finding a space where she lived.
Sophia’s father, Sir Brian Batsford, was known primarily as the artist Brian Cook: his Batsford book jackets from the 1930s to early 1950s, were outstanding illustrations, incorporating the 'Jean Berte' printing process that gave many of the jackets their bold characteristic colors. Her mother, an artist and mural painter, Wendy Batsford, was a serious painter until her death aged 92. A Co-Trustee of Sir Brian Cook Batsford’s estate, along with her sister, Sophia maintains the Brian Cook Batsford website which catalogues many of his most collectable covers, prints, posters, and personal memorabilia.
Sophia is married, living in California.
One of her biggest influences was the late Franklyn Liegel, who was her mentor at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, where she studied with him for 14 years. She was a student of Quinton BeMiller.
Late, great artists whose work she admires and whom she feel influenced her own work, are
Nicholas De Stael, Braque, Kurt Schwitters, Ann Ryan, Hannelore Baron, Paul Klee, Charles Seliger, Patrick Heron, Adrian Heath, Charmion von Wiegand... and the list goes on...
Sophia is a former member of 825 Gallery, Los Angeles Art Association, Women Painters West, and Collage Artists of America.
She has private collectors in London, Bermuda and the Caribbean, and shows and sells throughout the U.S. Her series of notecards, using photographs from her Nature collections are available on Etsy.com.