Top 50 Sheffield Artists and their Featured Art

Kieran is an abstract painter based in Sheffield. He predominantly uses spray paint, stencils, sandpaper and a wallpaper scraper loaded with runny paint to create imagined cityscapes and landscapes. His cityscapes seek to deconstruct what a city is; energy, bright lights, social and material decay. His landscapes are designed to be quiet and calming. Whereas most stencil artists decide what they want to paint and design the stencil accordingly, when creating his compositions Kieran works the other way around. He has a large collection of simple stencils of different shapes, sizes and patterns and uses these same stencils to build different compositions. The placement of one shape informs the placement of the next. Parts of the composition are sanded back and thin layers of paint are applied over the top. This gives sections of the composition a faded and worn feel. Thicker paint and super crisp edges are used elsewhere to create contrasts of texture and colour.

Initially trained in photography, Kerry Louise Bennett is a self-taught expressive painter with a passion for colour, texture and pattern. Her work is ‘wonky’, bold and theatrical. Underpinning this is the ongoing development of her unique visual language, with which she creates recognisable, but slightly abstracted or surreal worlds. Informed by a magpie attraction to fabrics, furniture, vessels and plants, as well as a longstanding love of fairy tales and magical realism, Bennett gives familiar shapes a strange musicality. Gesture, texture and hue are all employed to explore the magic of the things around us, and the way these things can weave powerful visual motifs into our personal narratives. Much of her subject matter falls within the ‘still life’ tradition, but her curiosity about her own (and other peoples) relationships with certain colours, objects and sentimental items, gives her art a joyful but off-kilter dimension not always associated with that genre.

I am a Sheffield based artist interested in inviting a conversation between my art and the viewer, whether it be through a drawing of a seemingly everyday street scene, a surreal collage, or an abstract painting.​ ​ Through painting I am interested in creating spaces that invite the viewer to participate in a dialogue, developing their own relationship with the work. I like to create suggestions of narrative but enjoy the ambiguous nature and the individual interpretations and dialogue that result. Many of my abstract paintings explore themes of memory and a sense of place. Whilst my paintings remain abstract I am very much inspired by my surroundings, particularly change in people, place and architecture. I often draw on location as research and to practice capturing a sense of the place and my surroundings through observational drawing. This intuitive and connected approach translates to my abstract work. I apply underlying hints of form and structure as I work towards capturing a sense, a feeling, or an unvisited memory.​On first appearance my work can be quite varied as I work across a range of media from collage, to drawings, to abstract paintings. Underlying all strands there is an ambiguity and a sense of time and place which hopefully invites the viewer to engage, and poses more questions than answers.

Joe creates miniature, folded paper worlds inspired by the Peak District, his home. The result is a mindful process of reconnecting with nature by recreating nature. Skai exists in a miniature world because this is where the little things in nature can be appreciated and an understanding of the ‘bigger picture’ can be achieved. After dropping out of university back in 2017/18, Joe has been finding his way back after a spell of depression and anxiety - Skai is a product of what he has learnt along the way about himself and the world that surrounds him. These creations are here to help both Joe and you find a bit of calm and gratitude in the everyday. For every sale, £1 goes to OneTreePlanted and £1 goes to Papyrus UK. Skai aims to help support two things that remain at its core - nature and mental health.

I am a lino print maker, living in the south of Sheffield with my husband and two small humans. I often stop short of calling myself an artist, but am becoming more comfortable with the idea that what I make is art and therefore I probably am! I started lino printing about 6 years ago, but got back in the swing of it properly this year after a few years hiatus (see above re. small humans!). The lino printing process really appeals to the practical side of my brain, the physical carving of the lino I find very therapeutic, and the printing process always holds a few surprises. My prints are largely of British wildlife, and I enjoy the challenge of capturing the texture of fur and feathers. I am currently working on a series of garden and woodland bird prints. When I’m not lino printing, I sing in a women’s barbershop/acapella chorus -Steel City Voices - and I enjoy a spot of wild swimming.

My name is Jack, I'm a sheffield based illustrator and I feel adopted son of the green city. Since graduating in 2019 I've been freelancing (alongside other work), working with lots of fun independents around the city, Porter Pizza, Spirals, Dearneside & Pina to name a few. Alongside this my interests include baking- which often creeps into my art, hiking, running and the cinemas. Over you know what (lockdown) I developed an interest in capturing architecture in my work, so followed an ongoing collection of Pubs, well known and hidden gems. These were done in Partnership with the long serving 'Framework Gallery'. So now whenever I walk the city and I do a lot my eyes are inspired by more than ever, that being said food is still the passion closest to my heart, my personal work often deviates from drawing my meals out, a way of me having a permanent memory of each place. It also serves as a friendly hello to whichever establishment I'm at. My ultimate goal is to be established in my field in this city and take it from there. I'm open to anything creative. Please reach out if I can bring anything to quirky life for you! For funky personal christmas gifts, hit me up!

I am a Bulgarian creative designer / artist based in Sheffield, UK. My desire to create started at a young age and brought me into the world of interior and graphic design. However, visual art such as drawing, painting and photography always stayed a passion of mine and just recently I decided to start showcasing my work on instagram and other platforms. I draw and paint mainly character-driven pieces with particular focus on ambiguous and raw expressions that hint emotions such as desire, hope and melancholy. I intend to represent these feelings but stay away from showing the story of the character. The viewers build the narrative themselves. In this way, the painting or drawing is only the first sentence of the story, the protagonist, the feeling, the question. And I, I am the quiet mediator between a face and the viewer. I subconsciously pack and paint raw feelings and give the viewer the opportunity to feel and wonder. Therefore, the artwork is merely about the character but the feelings it stirs. My work has always been inspired by graphic design’s bold colours and photography’s images - frozen forever but every time you look at them - different. My process involves a lot of layering and/or sculpting mostly rendered faces.

Grifff is an artist and designer based in Sheffield. Always drawing from a very early age, he entered the art world through his blackboard and sign writing, which garnished the walls and windows of some of the best loved pubs, bars and restaurants in Sheffield. Now working as a full time illustrator, Grifff delivers branding and creative to many international brands such as Red Bull and Heineken, as well as independent Yorkshire businesses. In his personal work, Grifff has a tendency to incorporate the environments of Sheffield and the surrounding areas where he grew up. Lunch On Mam Tor is his second in the series, larger than (wild) life, depicting gargantuan animals creeping up in familiar Sheffield locations, which started with the Park Hill Octopus on Park Hill Flats.

I am an illustrator, print maker and mural artist. Originally from Shropshire, I grew up with a love of nature which heavily inspires my work today. I moved to Sheffield for University, and inevitably stayed after meeting the amazing creatives this city houses. I graduated in 2019 with a degree in Illustration from Sheffield Hallam University. I began to further my interest in lino printing during my degree which is still a key part of my practice today. My work and style is varied (one day I might settle!), but throughout it all is always the sense of the importance of well being and our natural world, as both are close to my heart.

I am an artist and printmaker based in Sheffield. Originally from Germany, I moved to the UK over 20 years ago. I love photographing and sketching the landscapes of the Peak District and the animals that live here, and these often feature in my work. After working in watercolours for many years, I have recently fallen in love with printmaking, particularly collagraphy and aquatint etching. All of these mediums have an element of unpredictability that makes them very exciting to work with. I build my collagraphs in a painterly way, by applying pastes and gels to mountboard to create a range of textures and tones. To make my aquatints, I use innovative etching techniques that do not require the use of harmful acids or solvents. For me, the main appeal of printmaking lies in its need for simplification; the stripping away of unnecessary detail to get to the essence of the subject. I am drawn to strong value contrasts, and bold colours. I aim to capture the interplay of light and shade, and the moods created by different atmospheric conditions.

I have always been fascinated with the edges of landscapes, where one space collides with another. I grew up in Whitby, which lies on the boundary between moors and sea. Sheffield, my home now, has many layers to explore as its history is directly tied to every river and every valley that feeds it. In the borderlands between the city and the wilds surrounding it, there is so much industrial heritage slowly being absorbed into the surrounding woods and park lands. I find these spaces fascinating. Sitting and studying an old bridge, its alignment in the landscape, and the age of the stonework is often as enjoyable as the act of creating art. As a professional commercial photographer, I usually work to a client’s brief and my previous career as an industrial designer was equally constrained. My art provides me with a sense of playful freedom and I strongly believe that, as adults, we sometimes forget the power play has to benefit our overall wellbeing. I create work quickly and sketching allows me to work with flexibility and speed. I find the ‘minimal’ captivating. A simple set of lines and a splash of colour can be so expressive.

Dave is a printmaker who lives in Chesterfield, having moved there from Sheffield at the start of 2020. In his teens he attended art college in his native Portsmouth but after a couple of decades of living in Sheffield and not doing much with his art, he attended a drawing and painting night school class at Hillsborough college. This was followed by a printmaking course at the same place, where he quickly fell in love with making lino prints and he ended up doing the same course three times. Dave's work is sold in shops, cafes and studios in the Sheffield and Chesterfield area. He sells handmade cards, prints and also has his designs printed onto wood and slate. He also sells his items through Etsy and teaches lino printing. He's recognised for his imagery of running, cats, tattoos and mermaids in particular, however he's best known for his "Do Not Lick Pigeons" prints and beer mats, which appear in pubs and cafes from time to time. There's a definite abstract element to his work (and his brain).

I am an artist based in Sheffield. My principle preoccupation is with the post industrial urban landscape of this city. I paint what I like but I have taken on many commissions for people who like the way I paint. My paintings are underpinned by a delight in the marriage of nature, light and the built environment.

I am an artist who was based in Sheffield, where I studied my Bachelor’s degree and Masters in Fine Art. During my time there I was focusing on ways of reflecting the viewer into the position of the artwork using paintings of mirrors and reflective surfaces within landscapes. In My most recent work I have been creating a series of landscapes depicting two scenes showing structures that I find to be of interest, and looking at how composition and colour can bring these structures to the core of an image. I am constantly using reference images as foundations for paintings from photographs taken from the everyday. I find inspiration from everything as I like to blend the art into the everyday, from taking photographs, videos and sound recording to eventually use as reference or to spark an idea for a piece of work. For me it’s about noticing a subtle idea and manipulating it untill it becomes the centre of attention.

Claire McLaughlin has been making her three dimensional cardstock structures since 2019. Based in Sheffield, Claire studied at Psalter Lane Art College before beginning a career in packaging design. Under the guise of Layered By Claire, her art combines professional cardboard engineering expertise with an eye for natural and man made forms which can be rendered in this medium. The work combines her love of design and problem solving. Recreating fine detail using cut card requires the layers to be arranged in a counter-intuitive sequence. It also necessitates experimentation with perspective; the pieces reveal different facets when viewed from different angles. They often subvert a conventional representation of depth. Claire enjoys pushing the boundaries of what can be achieved with her technique. From early pieces using three or four layers, most recent work uses at least nine. Current commissions incorporate additional materials such as tiger thread and reflective foil. Claire is inspired by Sheffield and her subjects are often the city's architecture, wildlife and people.

I am a freelance Illustrator and Animator, specialising in character design and watercolour paintings. I enjoy taking on lots of projects and want to take on more - I like things that allow me to learn new skills and push boundaries. I am currently working on illustrations for my own shop but also take commissions. I have designed characters for script treatments, created tattoo designs, and personalised portraits. I am inspired by the world around me, as a member of the LGBTQ+ community I oen draw images related to supporting this. I enjoy expressing love in all forms, and drawing animals and nature. Recently, I started creating designs for buildings and views around my home City, Sheffeld.