I am giving away art!

This is the piece I am donating to the silent auction for Friday night's Preview Party at Celebration of the Arts! 

It's a sweet little piece I finished this year.  I found the inspiration for the folk art icon triptych in a children's book and added the peacock feather, symbolizing immortality, and the pear which symbolizes the incarnation of Christ.  I thought they were appropriate symbols since the theme for the icon is the Christ as a child.  I like the idea of the family icon as a focal point for the family's daily spiritual thoughts and prayers.
Someone's going to go home with this tomorrow night!  It is matted, framed and 16x20.

More sneak peeks!

Here is a little look into the piece I will be working on for COA this weekend!  I will be painting live as I have time at the show!

She's looking at little spooky so far.  I am going for geisha makeup again...so she will look otherworldly for awhile!

First layers of her hair.  I am planning on making her a red head,but that has changed before... ;)

Don't forget to check out my website for more!  http://www.artbysaradb.com

Parents, please support your artistic children!

I am really blessed to have parents who recognized my artistic talent early on. Even if they didn't always understand my 'artistic' personality, they always supported my desire to further my art education. I had art lessons in third and fifth grade and when I finally decided on an art major, they didn't discourage me from that path! My mom and dad were always quick to encourage my growth in art and never made me feel that I was wasting my time. Probably the biggest leap for them was when I quit my after college design job to paint full time. They were totally supportive! My mom still helps me out in my booth at art shows and is so proud. I know I am fortunate from the stories from my fellow art students. One friend told me his parents thought he was gay based solely on his choice to be an art major. He's not gay, by the way, and is now happily married. I imagine it is scary as a parent to have a child who wants to pursue an artistic field, especially as a career. I will be the first to tell anyone, that I am the exception. However, artistic people need a creative outlet to feel complete, whether it's music, art, literature, dance, or design. To be a career artist takes an organized personality, drive, and low overhead. Or, you are super lucky and get 'discovered.' An artist tends to be a bit sensitive, so encouragement is a must and permission to explore his or her field is important. So, even if an artist works as an accountant, waiter, doctor, teacher, or whatever during the week, knowing that the time spent pursuing their artistic passion is not a waste, is validating. So, on this Mothers Day, 2012, thanks, Mom, for always supporting my love for creating. It changed my life.

New Work in Progress!

Here is the sketch for one of my new paintings.  I will probably be working on this live at Celebration of the Arts May 18-20.
This show the parts of the sketch before it's put together...

I use fancy tools like torn paper and pencils!  After getting the basics done for the idea, I use a window or glass door in my house to transfer the sketch to good Arches watercolor paper.  I have also measured and drawn this sketch to fit a frame I have waiting for it.

Here is the sketch on the watercolor paper.  I draw really lightly so that my sketch won't be very visible when I watercolor it.

Stay tuned to get a sneak peek of this piece before it's seen in public next weekend!