By Laura Vailati
“I’m not trying to build up a collection of paintings to sell to a gallery. The reason I paint is because it drives me, as an artist and as a human being, to be in nature,” says artist Sarah Burns, who will be one of the faculty members at the first edition of Acrylic Live, online March 26-28, 2025, with an Essential Techniques Day on March 25.
Born in the country and raised in upstate New York, she has lived in the midst of farmland and forests. It gave her the opportunity to practice painting outdoors and develop a special feeling for nature. “The idea of immersing myself in the forest has stayed with me and I know that I can always return to the ‘forest’, to nature, where I can find my sense of peace,” says the artist.
Sarah always drew and painted whatever caught her eye, but “the big challenge,” as she puts it, was when she decided to switch from using photo references to painting from life. “Painting in plein air kept me going even though I had to go through a lot of typical beginner’s hurdles, like learning how to mix colors and learning how to draw, and when you’re kind of self-guided, it’s very frustrating sometimes,” she said.
Her technical process begins with sitting in a place for a few minutes to observe it, to understand the reason why her eyes have stopped there. She then captures the spot, or details of the spot, that she wants to represent and takes a series of photographs and drone shots to get a complete and detailed definition of the place. She makes sketches on the spot in watercolor or acrylic gouache and writes about whatever catches her eye or helps her to remember the unique details of a place.
To learn more about Sarah’s acrylic painting techniques, register here now for Acrylic Live!
The above is an excerpt from “Painting the Pathways of Nature” at our sister site, RealismToday.com.
