Posts Tagged ‘interview’
Sandy Ostrau’s wonderful paintings are filled with lush splashes of colorful energy. Composed on location, Sandy paints iconic Northern California landscapes, adding her own distinct artistic zest. As a result, Sandy’s paintings have an indescribable magical element about them. Light spills dynamically down dizzying hillsides, telephone wires are braided together with thick brush strokes of sky, waves swallow tiny chunks of rock, and the sea and sky duel for dominance over the horizon line.
Culture Vixen’s Gayle Wheatley caught up with Sandy to discuss art and creative inspirations.
Gayle Wheatley: How did you get your start as an artist?
Sandy Ostrau: Even as a kid art was my thing. I drew and painted on everything through high school and into college studying Art History. I started selling hand painted furniture, clothing, and ceramics in the 90′s and had a contract for my designs with Nordstrom department stores selling silk screened designs as wearable art. My line was selling well but I was spending too much of my time on sales and business and less and less time on art so I closed up shop and began taking oil painting and drawing classes at the Palo Alto Art Center. I fell in love with oil, a very forgiving medium, and began to focus on plein-air landscape painting.
GW: What are some of your artistic inspirations?
SO: I found two fabulous teachers, Brigitte Curt and Jim Smyth and studied painting with them. Over the years I was influenced by Bay Area artists Seldon Gile and the Society of Six artists and many of the iconic artists of the Bay Area Figurative movement including Richard Diebenkorn and Elmer Bischoff. From this influence I have developed my own style of modern landscapes.
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