Selected works
This section brings together a curated selection of available paintings from Sarah Muwanga’s recent practice. Each work explores the figure as a site of memory and presence, shaped through layered colour, texture, and atmosphere.
Works are available on enquiry
Grandma’s hands
Oil on canvas
60 x 60 cm
A child gently braids her elder’s hair, a quiet exchange of care and attention. Wiped- and scraped-back paint reveals textured layers beneath, suggesting memory, tradition, and knowledge passed between generations.
Angie
Oil on canvas
60 x 60 cm
Angie presents resilience through surface and stillness. Built up and pulled back through scratching and abrasion, the worn texture mirrors endurance, where strength sits quietly inside the everyday.
The sun’s hum
Oil on canvas
61 x 51 cm
Painted to hold a soft, warm kind of quiet. The figure is leaning forward with her eyes lowered, and I kept the brushwork open so the surface stays breathable and human. The blue line work in oil pastel carves through the paint, pushing the background towards pattern. The artist was thinking about the feeling of settling into yourself, and the low, constant comfort of sunlight you can almost hear.
Neglected notes
Oil on canvas
100 x 100 cm
Three siblings repurpose a cold kitchen hob as a makeshift recording studio. The pink pastel mimics children’s chalk scribbles and bring to life their imagination. Broad blocks of flat paint interrupt the everyday reality, representing the gaps left by hardworking parents that are stretched for time. This paintings captures the beauty and power that in sibling solidarity can have.
Black bird
She’s caught between her surroundings and her own thoughts. The flowers are full of life, but she’s distant. It’s about the beauty and strangeness of being in-between.
Acrylic on canvas
100 x 100 cm
Then I rest
She lies among blossoms, present yet distant. The blue outline shows her detachment from her surroundings. There’s strength in her stillness, but also uncertainty as she searches for her place in the world . The soft greens and warm floral tones contrast with the cool blue edges, while loose, layered brushstrokes hopefully create both texture and fragility.
Acrylic on canvas
60 x 60 cm
Day Dreaming
This piece was built with bold blocks of colour, carved out then filled with orange oil pastel, so the edges glow like an afterimage, blurring what is inside the car and what is outside. Sarah wanted it to feel like that specific moment when your body is still, but your mind drifts elsewhere, carried by light, movement and passing streets.
Oil on Canvas
60 x 80 cm
No. 655
This piece captures an intimate, fleeting moment of rest shared across generations. The warm tones and expressive brushwork aim to evoke a sense of everyday humanity and reflect on connection, care and the beauty of everyday life.
Acyrlic on canvas
60 x 60 cm
Sisters (Sold)
Oil on canvas
61 x 51 cm
This painting explores sisterhood, identity and quiet strength. Built up with many layers of paint, the textured background creates a sense of depth, memory and movement around the two figures.
In her bedroom (Sold)
Oil on canvas
76 x 52 cm
This painting continues the series’ focus on quiet presence within domestic space. Built through layers of paint that are stripped back and reworked, the highlights are drawn from colour beneath the surface. The raw exposure of the figure captures a private intensity, held in a space that is normally unseen.
Her golden fingers through
(Sold)
Illuminated by yellow oil pastel, this piece shows a process of healing and quiet rejuvenation. The layers and textures suggest a life of hardship and resilience; through this labour the figure comes into themselves and finds a sense of home within. The title references a poem by Robert Stevenson called Summer Sun.
Oil on canvas
80 x 60 cm
Ignorant bliss
(Sold)
Three older men sit together in a moment of quiet ease, embodying a sense of having seen and lived much. Their relaxed postures and shared presence suggest a gentle detachment from the world, choosing to simply exist in the moment rather than engage or explain.
Acrylic on canvas
60 x 60 cm
Nomad
(Sold)
This piece captures a quiet moment of stillness. The figure is resting but not entirely at ease, slightly detached from her surroundings. The floral backdrop feels soft and almost dreamlike, but the outline holds her apart. It reflects that feeling of being present but slightly outside.
Oil and acrylic on canvas
150 x 120 cm
Nomad, 2
(Sold)
Nomad, 2 - the second painting of a series exploring the feeling of not feeling at home when you’re at home. The surroundings done feel comfortable reflecting the figures headspace and the use of blue showcases the dissociative feelings she is feeling.
Acrylic on canvas
90 x 120 cm
Love letter
Oil on canvas
100 x 100 cm
Oil on cavas; rooted in tenderness, this piece centres the gentle act of hair braiding as an expression of care, trust and closeness. It is a celebration of enduring cultural tradition, shaped by the everyday rituals.