SARAH KAUFMAN
During the pandemic, Sarah Kaufman found she no longer felt in the painting inspiration that she did before. She says, “out of both desperation and boredom (which seems to be most people’s mood in 2020) I picked up interesting creative threads and followed those on all their circuitous loops while continuing to plug away in the studio, inspired or not.
“[Eventually] I found my inspiration again. While listening to jazz music in the studio, my paintings began to take a new direction. By looking at the natural shapes and lines found in the plants and trees around the studio and listening to music, I started to paint in response to the sounds and patterns and shapes I was hearing and seeing.
“After laying down thick areas of oil paint, I flip my paintbrush around to scratch into the wet paint, creating a rich push and pull of positive and negative space, thin and think line, fat masses of shiny oil paint with delicate, brittle contour lines drawn in them. I work until the canvasses become verdant jungles of rhythm, line, shape, texture, and color. Into these worlds I paints shapes that evoke the idea of animals, spirits, or trees. I work until the paintings vibrate with love for the natural world and the simple joy of pushing paint around.”
Kaufman completed a BFA in painting at the University of Memphis, as well as a Master of Education. After college she traveled around China, Europe, and Central America, teaching and painting.
Sarah currently lives with her family in Nashville, Tennessee. Her paintings are in corporate and private collections internationally.
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