Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Kennedy.
Sarah, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I was born in Kentucky and raised in East Tennessee. My tomboy tendencies and love of animals and nature shaped me as an artist today. As a child, I would try to make pets of squirrels, birds, feral cats and the livestock on the family farm. At age 11, I bought a pony and brought it home using my allowance and without telling my parents. I also loved drawing and would study the covers of “Western Horseman” at the feed store to learn equine anatomy. I was encouraged at a young age to experiment with oils, watercolors, graphite, and clay by my two aunts who were both artists.
Academically, I took a different path, earning a Masters and Bachelors in Food Technology and working as a researcher at Pillsbury, Stouffer Foods and Nestle’. My husband and I lived in various areas of the country until settling in Tucson eleven years ago. The natural world of the desert and the culture of the southwest rekindled my love of horses, animals and creating art. Here, I focused on growing my career as a professional artist. I also bought and trained my horse Blue who is a big part of my daily life.
Since then, I have worked hard to establish myself as an equine artist, working primarily in oils with an emphasis on contemporary realism. I have completed many commissioned paintings including the 2016 official poster for the Tucson La Festive de los Vaqueros which features world champion barrel racer Sherry Cervi and her celebrated horse Stingray. Wildlife, rodeo, and ranch are also major themes in my painting.
The other half of my art comes from clay. Drawing on inspiration from the many petroglyph sites of the southwest, I hand-cut shapes from slabs of clay, glaze and fire them in my studio kiln. These anthropomorphic figures, animals, symbols, and geometric shapes become tiles in colorful and imaginative compositions. The contrast in working on realistic oil paintings rendered in fine detail and the loose, whimsical nature of these mosaic compositions has served to balance me as an artist.
Has it been a smooth road?
Lack of self-belief is definitely the biggest obstacle to creating art and putting it out there. Our art is a piece of ourselves, it is our story, vision or how we have experienced the world. That can be pretty intimidating to make public with the risk of misunderstanding and vulnerability. Not getting accepted into a juried show can feel quite personal and very discouraging.
My advice – know that jurors have opinions and goals for every show, and it doesn’t mean your work isn’t good enough, it just means it wasn’t a fit for their show. Don’t read too much into it. I have work rejected and then go on to another show and win awards.
Also, have a community of artists to support you, share ideas, to be truthful with each other. Learn as much as you can, never stop trying to learn about your process and about yourself.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into Scorched Earth Creations and Kennedy Desert Art story. Tell us more about the business.
I did cover some of this in my story but here is the short version – I specialize in painting horses, and since I spend part of every day with horses, I feel I do have a good sense of movement, anatomy, and personality of horses. I never get tired of painting these beautiful animals. It gives me a lot of joy to complete a painting of a horse and their owner, there is often some emotion when these are presented as finished. The desert is also so full of life – there are an abundance of intriguing animal, plant and landscape subjects to paint. I think being surrounded by such a rich, natural environment gives my work feeling.
I am also very proud of the work I do for Scorched Earth Creations. My mosaics are primarily made entirely from hand-crafted tile, the larger ones containing as much as 600 individually made tiles. They are colorful, unique, and energetic, they celebrate the mystery and beauty of the ancient culture here. Since all of my shapes are cut free-hand with a small blade, no two are alike. I continue to experiment with different glazes and colors to give interesting (some epic disasters, other successful) effects. It is definitely a niche market, but petroglyphs are special to people that live in the southwest. I have had some great trips visiting sites in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah to capture images that inspire my work.
For good reason, society often focuses more on the problems rather than the opportunities that exist, because the problems need to be solved. However, we’d probably also benefit from looking for and recognizing the opportunities that women are better positioned to capitalize on. Have you discovered such opportunities?
As president of Women Artists of the West, I have seen women break into the western art world in a big way, this organization was founded back in the 1970’s by some women artists who noticed a distinct bias against their participation in the western art genre. With grit and perseverance, this group has endured an amazing 48 years and has grown from a handful of members to close to 350 women artists across the nation. We have partnered with some very prestigious galleries and museums to host a national show every year. As a united group, we by far purchase the greatest volume of national advertising of all the professional art organizations to promote our shows and our members. There is power in finding your tribe.
As a parent of a daughter who recently received her doctorate in physics and who is now working as an engineer on computer chips, I would say that all opportunities are within the realm of possibility for women who are focused on achieving their dreams.
Pricing:
- Mosaics start at $125 for a framed 8 X 8″ and go to $650 for an 18 X 18″
- Oil paintings range from $450 to $2200
Contact Info:
- Address: Sarah Kennedy
3430 W T Bench Bar Way
Marana, AZ 85658 - Website: www.scorchedearthcreations.com, www.kennedydesertart.com
- Phone: 520-579-5584
- Email: sarah@kennedydesertart.com
- Instagram: bluerideraz
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/scorchedearthclayart, https://www.facebook.com/Kennedydesertart
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-kennedy
Getting in touch: VoyagePhoenix is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
