Sarah Fairchild: 2010 People's Choice Award Winner!

Congratulations to Sarah Fairchild's "Sweet Corn and Flame Stitch" for winning this years People's Choice Award!

Here's an artist Statement from her website:

Growing up in a small town in Northwest Ohio, I often helped my mother and grandmother pull weeds and plant seeds. This early exposure to gardening and nature has inspired and informed my work. I am moved by the ordinary forms and objects that surround us - weeds and plants that I observe everyday on the highways and roadsides throughout Ohio, as well as the fence forms and flowers I see on my morning walks in the alleys throughout my neighborhood.

Working with fluorescent paint on paper is a relatively new media for me as an artist. In the past, working with oil paint on canvas, my flower forms and pattern have adorned still lives and interior spaces. My current work is committed, simplified and modern. I have taken small sections from my previous works and explored the essence of one idea, one moment. The paintings of flowers become modern versions of the classic botanical print.

Fluorescent color is typically associated with the garish, sterile nature of neon signs, rather than the elegance and beauty of fine art. I am intrigued with the process of transforming something ordinary or mundane into something extraordinary. My intent is to give life, vibrancy and importance to these common forms. I am drawn to the visual impact and scintillation that is created through the use of fluorescent color. While this effect may be difficult to glean from a photographic image, when viewed in person, the impact is undeniable.

The use of the silhouette is a common theme throughout my work. It allows me to capture the essence of the forms; it is simple and understood collectively.
I purposely paint the silhouette in darker colors, never black, with the intent to give an updated perspective from the traditional paper cut outs of the early 1800's. At first, the paintings have a flat graphic quality, however quickly transcend into much greater dimension. The surface has a tactile feel that comes alive thru the use of punched holes, grommets and the juxtaposition of thin layers of color next to the liberally painted surface of the silhouetted forms.

For more information, please visit her website: http://www.sarahfairchild.com/index.html

And, to see her award winning piece, please visit the Ohio State Fair Fine Arts Exhibition!

August 5th to August 8th, 9am- 9pm.