Sarah's artist statement

 

I remember the first watercolor painting I ever saw. It was a wedding gift, presented to friends of my family. The image was a rendering of the couple's home. I was astonished at the contrast between the colors of the building and landscape and the whiteness of the paper around it. My greatest desire as a 12 year old child was to figure out how to capture the feeling of sunlight as that artist did. Upon working with Ray Kass at Virginia Tech, I learned the beauty of experimenting with watercolor. Our lessons frequently began with a "patchwork quilt", playing with color just to see where it would take you. I frequently repeat this exercise.  I love to begin a piece and see where the materials take me. I think that I am drawn to watercolors for the reason that others seem to be repelled: the material is unpredictable, difficult to control and unforgiving. Experimenting does not mean that I do not plan, a watercolor (or acrylic treated as watercolor) has to be planned ahead so that the whites can be reserved. Colors can be scrubbed away if mistakes are made, as proven so successfully by Winslow Homer, but as the pigment stains the ground, the paper looses its pristine whiteness, and will never be the same. I love the juxtaposition of colors that are unexpected and strive to use unusual combinations.

Sarah