Sarah J. Berman

This figurative body of work loosely interprets narratives utilizing an approach that allows for liberated color, gesture and material relationships. This body of work comprises my largest scale pieces and communicate an immediate tactile rendition of photographic references.

Building abstract paintings provides me with the opportunity to combine multiple material methods, allowing the composition to develop without preconceptions. Often, multi-media is involved, including lean stain pours in oil, drawing in soft pastel and pigment sticks and brushwork with both raw and tubed pigment amended with mediums such as beeswax and stand oil. The energy of these pieces represents the importance of balancing both invention and discovery in the painting process.

Subjects selected for portraiture provide me the opportunity to honor a particular moment in time that reveals my connection with the subject portrayed. Academic portraiture/realism is a challenging yet intimate commitment to representing my family and loved ones.

Starting a piece without a reference and allowing myself to paint what I feel and/or remember helps me connect with my reality in a meaningful and lasting way.