Camden artist has residency at King's Gallery Buckingham Palace

But Sara Lee Roberts has been granted a residency at the King's Gallery in Buckingham Palace to do just that.

It's the first time the gallery has run the scheme, which has seen her visit Windsor Castle to draw Renaissance masterpieces held in The Royal Collection Trust - one of the world's largest collections of art.The Royal Collection is one of the world's largest and most important and includes drawings like Raphael's The Three Graces (1517-18) (Image: Royal Collection Trust.)

Back in her Camden studio, she will use her drawings as a springboard for contemporary work which will be shown in the gallery.

Around 160 of the King's drawings by Raphael, Michelangelo, Titian, Leonardo da Vinci and others will feature in the gallery's next exhibition which will see Sara and two fellow artists spending days drawing and talking to the public.

"I am very excited, it's an extraordinary opportunity," says Sara, who has written a book about reinterpreting old masters and often draws work in London's major collections.

Sara Lee Roberts will take her drawings of old masters back to her Camden studio and use them to inspire contemporary pieces (Image: Courtesy of the artist)

"The Trust has these incredible Renaissance drawings by Michelangelo, Leonardo, and Raphael, I went to Windsor and got to see these beautiful drawings as well as work by their contemporaries Luca Signorelli and Federico Barocci."

When drawing an old master, Sara channels the feelings of the artist from centuries ago.

"I use my instincts, I don't have a plan," she says.

"Working from the original you pick up on technique and and quality but also the feeling and emotions that are given off. I believe if you are sensitive to it you can sense the hand, eye, mark of the maker.

Sara says when drawing from an original work like Leonardo Da Vinci's Costume Study for a Masque (1517-18) you can 'sense the hand of the maker' (Image: Royal Collection Trust)

"When I was drawing from a Michelangelo - the Deposition of Dead Christ from the Cross - I picked up not only sorrow and sympathy but great love.

"Some of that was for the male body, the incredible muscles and beauty of the body. I was quite surprised by how suddenly I sensed that.

"Because I was drawing from the original there was a more intense, instinctive relationship with the maker than from just looking."

There will be a major exhibition of Renaissance drawings from the collection at The King's Gallery from November 1st (Image: The Royal Collection Trust)

Sara uses those same instincts when creating her own work: "Something will happen, I will use an unexpected material or do something abstract to show the feeling about the human condition that are in those great works.

"Art is primarily about the human condition, it's really quite simple. I hope to make work that has a connection with the original Renaissance drawings but that can speak to people today."

Sara strongly believes that great old works remain relevant and inspiring and should be accessible.

"As a tutor, I’m keen to remove the idea that you need to know about the history of art to appreciate these works. There’s something very straightforward about looking at art, you can connect to how it looks: the light, the shapes.

"As part of the residency we will spend days in the gallery, the public can talk to us, we will explain what we are doing, and run some workshops. There will be paper encouraging people to draw which they can be shy about."

"Old Masters still speak to us, it's important they are not put on a pedestal."

Drawing The Italian Renaissance is at The King's Gallery from November 1 and will be the widest-ranging exhibition of Italian Renaissance drawings ever held in the UK.