Iris 
Sunflowers 
Cobaea scandens Biography
Sandra studied printed textile design at Manchester College of Art in the 60’s where plant drawing was part of the syllabus. This was to have a significant impact on her future career.Initially she was involved in designing furnishing and dress fabrics mainly with a floral element.In the early 70’s she began painting vibrant full colour flower paintings and exhibiting her work in a number of London galleries It was a natural progression for her to branch into designing for the greeting card market. She has worked for many of the major card companies in the UK in particular Hallmark and Ling publishing. In the 90’s Sandra produced a top selling range of gift wrap for Henry Ling and Son, later to become Ling Publishing. The popularity of this high quality wrap was in large part due to the beautifully drawn floral designs and the intricacy of their repeating patterns which are her specialty. In 1994 she was engaged to work exclusively for Hallmark as a floral artist for their high quality card ranges. After five years she chose to widen her horizons and concentrate more on Botanical painting.
The combination of her textile skills and her detailed flower studies have resulted in her designs being produced on a wide range of products, including Furnishing and dress fabrics; Home and kitchen wares; Enamel boxes; Greeting cards; Gift wrap; Magazine and book illustration.
As a highly skilled draftswoman Sandra enjoys working in a variety of media although she specialises in watercolour. Floral subjects are her main interest and she interprets these in a variety of forms: as studies; still lifes; garden paintings and decorative stylised designs.
In 2001 Sandra became a member of the Society of Botanical Artists. She was elected to the board of directors in 2006. Sandra had a successful time as President of the SBA between 2013 and 2018 and introduced a number of initiatives during this time. She is also a tutor for the Society of Botanical Artists on their Distance Learning Course.
Teaching has gone hand in hand with Sandra’s career as an artist and illustrator. She is passionate about her subject and has spent many satisfying years as a part time lecturer passing on her skills to textile students on BA Degree courses. Many of her past students now hold prestigious positions in the textile market. Her reputation as a teacher has led to her running master classes for design studios in the UK and in Sydney, Australia.
Sandra now offers private tuition at her home in Suffolk and runs occasional workshops in the surrounding area.
Website: www.sandrawallarmitage.co.uk
Email: sandra@watercolourflowers.co.uk