About the Artist
Welcome! My name is Sarah, and I am thrilled to share my art with you! I currently work as a high school art teacher in Northeast Ohio, where I get to share my passion for art with young people. Outside of school, I enjoy spending time with my family and pup, gardening, and (of course) painting.
In the past few years, I have been rediscovering my love of painting. I am inspired by nature and find that spending time outdoors provides endless subject matter for me to paint. I enjoy recreating fleeting moments of beauty, trying to capture the essence of them with expressive brushstrokes and color. Each painting is like a puzzle and I lose all sense of time, savoring every moment. My favorite part of the painting process is when the idea catches some magic along the way and I let go.
inspiration
the lake
Nearly every summer of my life, I have been lucky to spend a few weeks on Great Pond in Belgrade Lakes, Maine. In the 1970’s, my grandfather built a small boathouse on the lake for the family to enjoy. I loved the time spent on the water skiing, swimming, and sunning.
When my kids were born, we continued the tradition and have created new memories to cherish. We watch the sunsets on the lake as a family, often sitting together to see the colors change as the sun goes down. This is a meaningful subject matter for me, and often evokes feelings of awe, nostalgia, and deep appreciation.
flowers
Flowers often find their way into my paintings. I fell in love with growing flowers in my early twenties, planting a variety of annuals and perennials suited for cutting and as companions to the vegetables. Today, more than half of the garden is dedicated to my flowers and it is a delight to enjoy them year after year from spring to fall. I love to make bouquets and share them with others. My favorite varieties include zinnias, dahlias, cosmos, sunflowers, sweet peas, butterfly weed, bachelor buttons and peonies.
a walk in the park
I take my dog for a walk at a lovely pond encircled by a trail almost everyday. Recently I have been captivated by the reflections of the sky in the water, inspiring me to experiment with orientation in my work. These paintings can be viewed right-side up, upside-down and even vertically like a Rorschach Ink Blot. Animal and human forms can often be spotted in the clouds, reflections and vegetation without adhering to perfect symmetry.
things in the sky
Our backyard faces west and we are witness to amazing weather patterns and spectacular sunsets. No two days are alike. During the summer of 2021, I created a series of paintings inspired by the idea of pareidolia, after seeing a chicken in the clouds. Most often animal and human forms are subtlety apparent, leaving it up to the viewer for interpretation.
