Sara

Sara Sarhangpour is a Toronto-based illustrator and artist. Her work reflects and intertwines her personal experiences with her love of all things cute. Sarhangpour draws inspiration from nature, fantasy, city life, the mundane, and the occult. Her influences include Michael DeForge, FriendsWithYou, TokiDoki, Gary Baseman, and Takashi Murakami. She welcomes everyone into her whimsical and colourful world filled with quirky characters.

Sarhangpour’s recent body of work explores silly characters and the personification of adventurous animals. Her illustrations have been described as comical, whimsical, and imaginative, set typically in bright and pastel backdrops, depicting a bright and cheery scene of, for example, friends camping, eating at a restaurant, or relaxing at the park. Sarhangpour believes she subconsciously makes work that illustrates and evokes feelings of hope and positivity, even in the absence of hope, moving the viewer to viscerally respond to it, bringing warmth to their day. Sarhangpour fills up an empty page or canvas with vibrant colours, intricate details and a particular focus on the minutiae. She works digitally, but also enjoys traditional mixed media including pencil crayons, ink, markers, watercolour, and acrylic paint.