2015-2017 Painted My Little Heart Out

You know that dream you have about taking two year sabbatical to do nothing but make art and "find yourself?" I did that. 

I left my home in Minnesota in 2010 and drove west...all the way to the end. Landed in a wonderful life town on the coast. When you leave college and don't have the community to support your art making life sure does get in the way. I went from managing a glass art gallery to bartending at the local watering hole. I met people from all over the world and in 2015 I took all my saved pennies and you guessed it...Painted my little heart out. Open studios, large collaborations, commissions and making art for arts sake. Here are a few of my favorites. 

Artist Statement:

I moved from the Midwest in 2010 with my Bachelors of Fine Art, about 10 boxes of stuff and a car full of art.  Started out by just being a visitor to the Oregon Coast but one day... I just stopped leaving.  The remarkable dynamic of people and landscapes inspired me everyday to create and appreciate the work I produce in this amazing corner of the world.  I am blessed to have an amazing studio in Pacific City where I cannot only create, but am able to use it for showings of my work and as a venue to host and feature other talented artists in the community.

My work falls most into the category of abstract landscapes and figures.  I use images to inspire the emotion I hope to instill in the viewer.  There is a different process when you view abstracted art.  It is easy to look at the chaos of lines and color and try to pull out faces and symbols to justify what you see.  I ask you not to do that.  During my process, I make a point to not know how it will turn out. Each piece takes its own journey to completion separate from the others and separate from pre- determined ideas of what it should be. Subtle tones contrast with linear weight and negative space to create dreamlike compositions.

I want my art to have a presence in a room, not to be a side note in décor. To be in a place where the conversation is never static, because the light, placement, and the mind can change it over the matter of a day.  To not be the water, but the river that runs parallel to the visual standard to wake up an artistic side in everyone.

- Sara Larson, 2016