Sara's Virtual Art Gallery

10 years and a local show

2011-01-31T14:41:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow I am hanging my art at the local theater. It's going to be cool because I will have about 25 pieces covering 10 years of my work! I can't believe it's been 10 years as a professional artist. I still like my older work and it's making me nostalgic to see how it's changed.
My undercurrent of spiritual symbolism is still alive and well, but I think my style has evolved a little. Although I am prone to change styles a little, I love art deco to photo realism, I think my work has a more polished look. Well, I hope it looks polished anyway. No one wants to hear or say that they are getting sloppier!
Thanks to those who have supported me all of these years, and I am looking forward to another decade, or four, or creating!

My technique and why I love watercolor

2011-01-17T07:01:00.000-08:00

Last week I was happy to demonstrate my watercolor technique and talk about being a professional artist to a local school's middle school and high school art classes. The kids were great, and it was fun to demonstrate since the teacher had a camera at her desk that would project was I was painting onto the screen at the head of the class. Gotta love technology!!

I use a layering technique to achieve the look of my watercolors. I control the wetness of the paper and the brushes to manipulate this medium. The comment I hear most when I say that I use watercolor is that watercolor is so hard!! It absolutely can be!! With a lot of patience and some know how, this medium provides me with a way to create realistic paintings and portraits in color. I prefer watercolor over oils because watercolors are water soluble and so I don't need any chemicals other than the paints themselves. It is odorless and dries quickly, too. I am including some time lapse photos of one of my paintings to show my process. It takes awhile and doesn't really look great until the end, but I really like the results!! I hope you find it interesting!

December post

2010-12-20T18:04:00.000-08:00

Well, it's hot today so it's hard to feel Christmasy, but I baked pumpkin and poppy seed breads for friends and family yesterday and today. My house smells amazing!! I am done with my commissions for the year and I am kind of taking a break to let my mind rest and come up with new ideas for paintings.
I was busy with shows and commissions this fall, so I haven't painted for myself in months. I am trying to finish a series. Sometimes the last paintings are the hardest!!
I also need to create some work to enter in the Spring Juried show. The Midland Arts Association has a rule that you can't enter anything that has been accepted in a previous MAA show. Well, the juror for the Fall show chose way too many pieces for the show. Case in point, all three of my entries got in. That has never happened before. I have juried shows before. I know it is difficult, but it doesn't mean as much to the artist if almost everything is accepted! So, I have no recent work to enter that hasn't already sold or already been in an MAA show. I know, boo hoo! ;) All that to say, I need to be a creative genius in the next few weeks! I hope something decent comes out!! ;)
I hope everyone is safe traveling and has an amazing Holiday with family and friends!!

2010-08-25T17:08:00.001-07:00

"Blue Bird" 16x20 watercolor

I really love the colors in this piece! They are uplifting and bright. The colors remind me of a piece I did in 2006(see below).
This is the second piece about the mind I have done this year. In this piece, compassion and faith are encouraged. You can read the full symbolism on my website. Just as a little trivia, the grass texture is achieved using salt while the paint is still wet!

2010-07-19T08:55:00.000-07:00

"Mind Flight" 16x20

This piece has a much more moody and, dare I say, romantic feel than most of my other work. I like it! It is part of a series I am doing on the mind and having the mind of Christ. For a more in depth explanation of the symbols, please check it out on my website.

2010-07-09T06:55:00.001-07:00

"Helmet of Salvation" 18x24 acrylic

This piece was a vivid image in my brain before I started. It kept bugging me until I painted it. I really thought I had seen a good reference for the girl, but I ended up creating the whole thing from my imagination. I knew I wanted a 60s/70s poster feel for this piece. The dove on her head is a nod to the famous Woodstock poster, which I had a great time adding. I like the idea of creating 'positive propaganda' with the poster style pieces that I do. I really love playing with different fonts to create the feel of the time period that I am referencing and the meaning for the piece. The acrylic medium is perfect for creating the bright opaque colors and crisp lines that so many posters have.

Feet of Peace

2010-06-21T07:05:00.000-07:00

"Feet of Peace" 2010 acrylic 16x20-available

"... with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace." v.15

In this piece, I was going for the look of a vintage travel poster. Wings and bodies of doves are springing from her feet. I think having your feet fitted with peace means walking in the peace of God, and bringing His peace with you everywhere you go. Knowing that God is with you allows you to avoid Satan's bait and traps that will get you into trouble or at the very least cause you anxiety.

The French translates "Feet of Peace."

In every series I do, I have at least one or two of the pieces complete in my head before I start. This is one of those pieces. I knew I wanted to use the kimono and geta feet and I wanted the doves and the look of a vintage travel poster. I like the way the doves turned out more subtle than I thought, too.

Natasha

2010-06-19T07:08:00.001-07:00

I love drawing and painting faces. In fact, my bread and butter is children's portraits. In this piece I wanted to push my ideas of color in portraits and loosen up a little. I like detail and control in my work. I think it's still pretty tight, but I really like the colors!

Watercolor and gold leaf on Arches 90 lb cold press watercolor paper

Getting Started...

2010-06-19T06:57:00.000-07:00

I am new to blogging, but I hope this will open my art up to a new range of people!

My work is based on Christian symbolism, so everything has a story behind it. I hope you will enjoy seeing my work as I complete it.