Sandra Dowd
Sandra is a Minneapolis painter, portrait and performance artist. She welcomes commissions.
About My Art
I see life’s primary essence as the struggle to create balance between opposites. I find that same struggle when creating art. In my work I try to walk the fine line between spontaneity and control. I love the contrast of loose, quick suggestive strokes against more tightly rendered areas. I also like pastel because I can bridge the gap between drawing and painting. I think I am more of a draftsman than painter; however, I love color. Pastel allows me to create drawings with color.
The face and body have always fascinated me. I have studied the techniques of the old masters for many years and have been particularly influenced by the Impressionists. I work from live models as well as photos and am inspired by the beauty of the shapes and colors of the human form. I try to use spontaneous strokes that suggest rather than totally describe the person and setting realistically. I hope my pieces give the viewer an exciting visual experience through their texture, color and dancing stokes
About Me
I have been painting portraits for more than 40 years. My paintings are in homes across the United States and Canada and have been reproduced in national magazines. I am a retired Art Professor from Navarro College in Texas. Prior to that I maintained a freelance graphic design business in Washington, D.C. and worked as a technical illustrator in North Carolina. Currently, I live and maintain a studio in Minneapolis.
I am also a performance artist. I have perfected the art of painting portraits to music by turning a large, blank canvas into a recognizable person in minutes. I apply the paint stokes in sync to the music. Performing with such musicians as the Austin Texas Chamber Music Society, the Dallas Lower Beaton Street Band, local Minneapolis artists and bands as well as recorded music, I have painted portraits of the great Louis Armstrong, Beethoven, Einstein, Ray Charles and many others. I wow my audiences with these paintings done quickly and with flare.
I received a Bachelor of Arts in Studio Art and Art Education from the University of Texas at Austin and Master of Arts Degree in Painting from Texas Woman’s University. I also have studied at the Art Students League in New York City and under such renown pastel artists as Daniel Green, Raymond Kinstler, William Schultz, and Albert Handel.
