'I paint because it feels an extraodinary privelege simply to know how.'
- Sophie Walbeoffe
Sophie Walbeoffe is a British painter who has lived and worked in Kenya for more than thirty-five years. She studied at Wimbledon School of Art and later with Cecil Collins, who encouraged her to paint with both hands—a practice that helps preserve the freedom and spontaneity of her work.
Working in watercolour and oils, Sophie paints directly from life whenever possible. Her expressive paintings capture the landscapes, wildlife and changing light of Africa, while her travels through Europe, the Middle East and India have brought new stories and influences into her work.
Sophie is currently preparing for A Path Untrod, an exhibition at Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur in February 2027. Inspired by Rajasthan and her family’s connection to Rudyard Kipling, its title comes from a poem Kipling wrote for her mother, Fleur Courtauld.