AN artist had the surprise of her life when Academy Award winner Susan Sarandon visited her shop - and then when back to buy some more paintings.

Awestruck Sara Le Roy, owner of 3D Le Roy Art Gallery, in Bond Street, Brighton, said it was an unforgettable moment. She said Ms Sarandon, 72, first went in her shop on Sunday and bought several paintings.

The 38-year-old said: “I was first visited by a well-known make-up artist, Michelle Johnston. At the time I didn’t know who she was. She said she really liked my art work and told me she would come back with a friend.

“On Sunday, Michelle came back and to my surprise, it was Susan Sarandon. I couldn’t believe one of Hollywood’s top actresses was standing inside my shop.

“Obviously I didn’t expect Michelle to be bringing a celebrity to my shop.

“She was shooting a movie near Brighton and it was the weekend so the filming crew was taking a break. She bought eight prints of Tinkerbell, Ariel, a dwarf and a few unicorns.

“My paintings mainly consist of modern revisions of traditional fairytales, sometimes with dark elements. You need to wear red and blue glasses to see the 3D effects.”

Sara opened her shop, which was formerly a fisherman’s cottage, in August.

She is originally from The Netherlands and had lived in London before moving to Brighton.

She said: “Susan really liked my paintings, she particularly liked the one with Tinkerbell because of its naughtiness.

“In the picture Tinkerbell was dying her hair black next to a line of urinals after coming back from a killing spree.

“Susan was also talking about her campaign against human trafficking.

“She came the second time on Wednesday to buy a Snow White painting.

“It was an amazing experience, and the fact that she took time out of her busy schedule to pop into the shop again. Those were just unforgettable moments.”

The Hollywood star has also been seen shopping in North Laine and checking out the old Hippodrome in Middle Street.