Interview with Artist: Sarah Denby

Sarah R. Denby is a freelance painter born and raised among friends and family in the Pacific Northwest. Mostly self-taught, Denby grew up watching her mother and older sisters draw, paint, sew, sing, and build beautiful things, and in her late teens she began making a name for herself through paint in her hometown of Stanwood. Today she paints for clients all over the Pacific Northwest.

Denby works mostly in acrylics on canvas, specializing in slightly kooky portraits and unsuspecting themes. Bold in color and heavy on content, Denby’s artwork has taken many shapes, including murals, large-scale illustrations, portraits, graphic design and tattooing. Resent projects include logo design and muralist for Sno-Isle Natural Foods Co-op in Everett, WA, and Artist in Residence for the Mount Vernon School District, 2009-2010. Denby’s current collection, Nudes in Shoes is showing at Mi Shoes at 1315 Railroad Ave. during the October, 2010 Bellingham Art Walk.

The Interview

S~ “What is your most dominant characteristic?”

Sarah- “I think above all, I have the capability of breaking chaotic things down into simple, digestible parts.”

S~ “Who would you say are your heroes and inspirations?”

Sarah- “Heroes...all the ladies in my life who make me laugh and cry with me are my heroes, cause they save me. My inspirations can come from anything...anywhere. Smells, songs, colors that I never considered together but that suddenly strike me as compatible, shapes. And obvious things too, like other artists...Edward Hopper is my most recent inspiration.”

S~ “Where do you find inspiration for your characters?”

Sarah- “I do mostly portraits, so my characters are real people... I just try to capture their most telling feature if I can.”

S~ “Can you describe your work process and what media you use?”

http://www.paulisrael.com/

Sarah- “The process begins with a search, usually. I have to try and find some tangible things to create the elements within a painting. I print a lot of images, I take a lot of pictures, I have weird little scraps of paper and crap everywhere that are just the right color or whatever. I have to lay it all out and find a home for it all on the canvas, piece by piece...starting with the background and leading up to the front. I work mainly in acrylic paint on canvas, but funny things happen and by the time I’m done...there's always some piece of multi-medium who-knows-what in there. My favorite thing to do is hide secrets in there, and then later whoever bought the painting will see and be excited about it all over again.”

Sarah- "Michael Pearson's, (he's the musician just releasing the Ghosts of You album ) son, Simon, is a Godzilla fanatic. This painting is of Simon with a Godzilla tail destroying Seattle...the moth is called Mothra and the dragon with 3 heads is King Ghidorah...all classic Godzilla creatures (I just learned all this over the course of the last few weeks...Simon is only 4, but he's very informative) I like doing portraits that have special meaning to the recipients in a surreal/whimsey/weird way. This one was right up my alley."

S~ “How do you feel about a structured art education?”

Sarah- “I think structure is a good thing for some artists. I have my own form of discipline when it comes to the creative process and I know if I don't follow my rules or if I get lazy, it won't be as decent of an outcome. But I also believe that there are some things that can't be taught. But don't get me wrong...if someone offered to pay for my education at an art school, I wouldn't kick it outta bed. I hope I never stop learning and improving on my skills...I feel like I have so much to figure out still.”

S~ “What do you hope to accomplish as an artist?”

Sarah- “I'd love to just be able to work as an artist, painting, and meet other people who share my passion and learn from them. It would be nice to just make enough money to put gas in my car when the mood strikes to visit a friend, eat out when I'm craving Bamboo Gardens, and buy my kids lego sets when they're being good little boys. That's all.”

S~ “What do you consider your greatest achievement to date?”

Sarah- “I think following through with my painting has really paid off, and I'm proud that I didn't let life and all the crazy shit it throws at you stop me from remembering that, aside from being there for my family and friends, art is the most rewarding aspect of my life. Achieving enlightenment? Does that count?

S~ “Do you prefer collaboration and painting for an audience over studio painting?”