Who I am and how I got started!
Hi! I'm Sara Wilson, the artist behind Drawing With Sara. I am a wife and mother of 2, living in Dodge City Kansas. We have a house, a dog, and a never-ending pile of laundry. I find time to work on art projects when not at my day job, as a library clerk.
As a Child
"Every child is an artist . . . " - Pablo Picasso
I began my love affair with drawing at a very young age. From the time I could pick up a pencil, I set to work creating my own imaginary worlds full of dancers, ice skaters, princesses, and fanciful beasts. With a little talent and a lot of practice, I steadily improved over the years. My classmates loved it because I could draw them pretty much whatever they wanted for their notebook designs or playground "tattoos." My teachers didn't appreciate it as much because, well, my primary practice times were during their lessons.
High School Years
In high school, I continued expressing my love of art through sidewalk chalk contests, drawing a monthly comic strip for the school newspaper, and taking an art class. It was at the end of that art class that I was named "most promising student" and offered a scholarship to the Colorado Institute of Art. I didn't use that scholarship and, instead, chose to pursue writing. If I had it to do over again, I would probably have made different choices. But, isn't that most of us?
Because I chose to focus my creative energy in other places, I stopped producing #art all together for several years.
Getting Back to Art
“. . . The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.” - Pablo Picasso
Several years into adulthood, well past my college years, a friend and former classmate contacted me about doing illustrations for one of her children's books. I hadn't drawn in so long, I wasn't even sure I knew how to, anymore. Well, let me tell you this - it's like riding a bike. You never forget how. You might be a little rusty, at first, but it comes back to you rather quickly.
The illustration thing didn't pan out for various reasons, but it lit a fire under me. Suddenly, I remembered how much I loved art and I realized what a big chunk of my life I had been forfeiting. So, I dove back in. Alllll the way in. :)
Present Day
I had always wanted to learn to draw portraits because that, to me, seemed extremely challenging and I wanted something to work towards. So, I took in as many tips and as much information as I could from hyper-realism artists via their blogs, websites, and YouTube channels. I started with pieces at a time - how to draw a realistic eye, how to draw a nose, etc. and practiced each part individually before moving on to create a whole face. Once I felt confident in that ability, I moved on to drawing animals in much the same way.
As I grew in my ability to draw realistic people and animals, I researched different textures and mediums. To date, I've tried: pencils, charcoal, chalk pastels, oil pastels, watercolor pencils, water-soluble graphite pencils, colored pencils, and even acrylic paints. My favorite mediums, so far, are graphite, charcoal, and pastel pencils.
Once I felt fairly confident, I began producing pieces for sale. My dad invited me to show my work with him at his art show in Meade, KS and that collaboration was my very first exhibition. Since then, I've participated in other collaborative art shows as well as a solo exhibition and was a featured artist at Colby Community College's Studio Friday, where I taught others my drawing technique.
I am working towards teaching others the techniques that I've learned over the years, via video instruction, that I intend to offer on Patreon. So, be looking for that, from me, in the future!
Thanks for stopping by my website. For business inquiries or to purchase a painting or drawing, please click on the Contact link and fill out the form. I'll get back to you as soon as possible!
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