Dear Art in The Park

I have lived in Richland, Washington, for three years now and Art in The Park has been a highlight every year. It's rare that I get to share my art with so many people and once they step into my booth they are all ears. It's different from an exhibition in that i really get to explain the inspiration behind pieces.

Felicia Follum Art at Art in The Park
Richland, Washington

I have never attended the event as a local but have had a booth all three years. My first year I found nearly everything for my set up on the side of the road marked "free" or from dumpster diving, yet somehow you saw potential in my application. My second year I bought a couple pieces at Goodwill and a couple used easels from other artists. This year was my first year with panels for walls and it made a huge difference!

I'm thankful for an arts event that involves the community and has been willing to let me learn as I grow. Art in The Park, you have pushed me to create new work and to engage with the community.

I'm already looking forward to next year and am thinking of some of the changes I will make!!!


Thank you Art in The Park, Allied Arts and Tri-Cities for being pretty stinking amazing!

<3 Love,
Felicia Follum

PS, If you would like to learn more about the work in the image, here are some links below.

My Women & Sisters (Redemption and Stories)

Boats & Bombs (Working with refugees locally and abroad)

The Lily Pad Project (Raising awareness about human trafficking and sex slavery)

Travel Your City (Exploring and Promoting Richland, Kennewick and Pasco)

Parisian Painting

Today I spent a few precious hours in my local Starbucks painting and reading.
With every page I read of A Movable Feast by Hemingway, the desire to pick up my brush and paint became harder and harder to deny. I love how his writing is a continues stream of thoughts, honest, somewhat blunt, partially funny, but always true. You know how he feels without himself telling you in a cliche way. What a gift! I want my paintings to have that truth.
Right now I'm working on a concept (not yet put on paper) that will involve fabric studies and reference photographs. Maybe I'll let you in on it this week.. hmm.

While I mulled these thoughts over I put in so time on my sisters' gift.
Now an elaborate chandelier and a bitter sweet girl hold center stage

Stay Artsy,
~Sarah Bosserman

Frills and Googly Eyes

My Lizard painting is done!!

I adore his googly eyes, large frills and awkwardness.

So ugly that he's cute!

I've achieved all I wanted of him and I'm satisfied with my work.

Today is a good day to be an artist.

I'm naming it Frills and Googly Eyes, unless a better one comes along.

Stay Artsy,

~Sarah Bosserman

Nearly Finished!

Tah-Dah!!!
It's finally all coming together, and with one day before it hangs in the gallery!!
This morning I blasted my Mumford and Sons Pandora radio and painted while poorly singing and dancing along to that crazy banjo music! Haha, I'm keeping it eclectic at the Bosserman household, and hey, whatever helps the job go faster. Whistle while you work!

(Please excuse the creepy Mel Gibson looking on..)

More work needs to be done, but now I believe it will be finished on time!
If you'd like to be at the Art Walk Gallery show, here's the address,

3rd Annual Art-a-Day Show!

Thursday, March 3rd,5 – 9pm

First Thursday Art Walk in Historic Downtown Kennewick

at

Chell Design,11 S Benton St, Suite A,Kennewick, WA 99336

I hope to see you,

Stay Artsy,

~Sarah Bosserman

Perspective With Floss

Yes, I'm tweaking the Green House painting again.
I wanted to do correct perspective, so, naturally I used floss to map out the lines. Floss. Yes, I used floss. I couldn't find my chalk sticks and it was the closest thing at hand.
I don't know how my dentist would feel about this, but hey, it worked!

Stay Artsy,

~Sarah Bosserman

Green House Progress and a Bit of Alice

I got so much work done on my Green House painting today.
With my music blasting and pallet in hand I hashed out the beginning layers of the sky. Later I'll add more blue low lights and orange-ish highlights to give the rolling space clouds more definition. After I finish the sky I can move on to the metal casing of the green houses and the tree silhouettes.

After working on my painting and with my students, I came home to a surprise Valentines Day package from my sweet Aunt Kristina. Inside I found Dove Chocolates (Does she know me or what?) and an Alice in Wonderland Liv Doll! I was so happy to get a doll, I haven't received one since age 8, and after all.. are you truly ever to old to have one? I plan to keep it on my shelf next to my copies of Alice in Wonderland. For years I have loved the classic story. So full of rich description and imagination, I collect old editions and modern ones for the beautiful illustrations. Lewis Carroll's tale has been a huge source of inspiration for my art. You can see some of my "Alice" inspired art here and here.

She's beautiful!!
Thanks Aunt Kristina!!
Stay Artsy,
~Sarah Bosserman

Happy Valentines Day!

Image created by me, quote, Charles Shultz

I hope you all had a lovely Valentines Day.

I spent mine stewing over the Green House painting, and how I've got to finish it within two weeks because there is a slight possibility of it hanging in a gallery for First Thursday. I'm crossing my fingers and using every iota of spare time to get it finished! One of the things I deal with a lot as a painter is trying to long and hard to make the painting be just like the one in my head. It's not like I'll think poorly of myself if it doesn't come out perfect, but I will go on for months until it does come out right. I have trouble letting good enough be good enough!

Anyways, here's a little peek at the work I put into the "beast" today.

Unfortunately, much of my work is lost in the pixelation of photography.

Yikes, this has been a bit of a downer post.. I think that box of truffles, and chocolate chia
that came in the mail via Grandma (how I love you so) is calling me... Lucy knew what she was talking about.
Ah, the ups-and-downs of a painter!

Stay Artsy, and Happy Valentines Day,
~Sarah Bosserman

Tiny Businessman

Hello all! Did you enjoy your Sunday?

For a good portion of it I Youtubed, painted and drank lots of lemon tea, my new favorite beverage. Yum! Tomorrow is the day I would normally work on the space mural , but unfortunately I have a dentist appointment. Blah, I'd much rather be painting, but good dental hygiene has it's perks.

After all that stimulating lemon tea, I sat down and knocked out this little portrait. It's of a goldfish Businessman. He is the CEO of a successful edible-seaweed food chain, and his name is Linus. Isn't he smart looking with his green tie and black suit?

I painted Linus on a tiny canvas, which is why his portrait was so quick! This isn't the only tiny portrait I done, the first one being this. I'm thinking that I'll make a bunch of these tiny portraites and hang them in a grouping on a wall...

Stay Artsy,

Sarah Bosserman

~Sarah

Green House Painting

After an hour of painting tonight I feel like it's starting to finally come together! Now, if only my camera would stop taking blurry photos, I could really show you it!

I'll try and take some pictures of it tomorrow in proper light.

Stay Artsy,

~Sarah Bosserman

Quick Update

Quick Green House Update.

I painted the farthest GH and I'm about to work on the horizon glow. More pictures tomorrow!

Sleep Well, Stay Artsy,

~Sarah Bosserman

Green Houses, First Layers Complete

Here is another progress report on my Green House Painting.

One of the reasons I painted over the sky and green houses is because I wasn't to start creating visual depth in my paintings. Working layers of shadow and color from the back all the way forward to the viewer. I want to make it so when you look at this it has a near tangible depth, so the first layers of black sky and misty green-blue are very important. Next I'll add shadows of ferns/trees in the GH (Green House) and I'm going to do some research to see how colors come forward and recede in galaxies. I'm thinking the cool colors are farther away and the warmer ones up front, but research must be done to be sure!

Wish me luck, this is going to be the biggest challenge I've faced yet with a paint brush!

Stay Artsy,

~Sarah Bosserman

Short and.. Well, Short.

I have really got to start doing my blog posts before 9:00pm so this going to be short.
My sister and father were home sick all day, so my painting time was at a minimum.
I managed to pull out my paints and work on lowering the horizon line though.
I think this helps to bring an emphasis to the green houses.
Before they seemed to be huddled to much amongst the trees.
I also think this gives the sky a wider and grander view.
One of these days I'll take a decent picture of my painting.
Maybe tomorrow.

Well, good night,
Stay Artsy
~Sarah Bosserman

On Monday nights I take an art class.

Tonight we did small water colors of what we're afraid of.

I decided to take an unusual approach to this exercise. I wanted to paint something fictional, so, I made the Kraken, a giant sea monster from a book I read.

Here's a small peek from my work on the Green-House painting.

I've decided to repaint the sky first. I'm working from the bottom up with a blue glow on the horizon. I'll expand that glow so it has a more even shading into the black sky, but today this is as far as I got. If you look at the bottom of this photo, you can see my tiny sky color study.

It's kind of cute next to it's huge cousin.

Renewed Start!

I got closer to that huge detailed painting today!
Since I started this monster of a piece last summer and put it aside up until now, I took some time to re-define what I want from it. To do this I gathered up my brushes and paints and went to Starbucks, my home away from home. I sat in there for two hours painting this color study for the sky and greenery. I wish my camera could take better pictures than this!! So much of my careful brushwork is lost!

This is the picture I started last summer. It's 4'x4' and all acrylic.
Don't get any ideas though, this painting is a long, long, long way from being done.
As you can see it has a lot going on, and my instinct is to simplify and bring in a better
brush-flow. I also think the green houses need to be toned down A LOT, and given a more aged patina. I'm not feeling the bright yellow light either.
The green house window dormers need to be shrunk too in order to give a grander scale to the rest of the picture. like, 1/5th of the size they are now.

Tomorrow is the day I start again!
Wish me luck, this is my next big project!
Stay Artsy,
~Sarah Bosserman

Forest View

I felt so much better today that I got out and walked out by the river. I was so inspired by the natural growth of trees and contrasting greens that I came right home and drew this.
Of course, my painting/drawing is in the height of summer, but it was "form" that I was looking to experiment with. Form wasn't the only thing I played with. I used crayons, acrylics and a Sharpie to get the many layered/textured effect.

I think my sickness is nearly over, if only this cough will leave me!
Stay Artsy,
~Sarah Bosserman

Another instalment of my Rabbit in Wonderland picture. The first coat of hair is done, now the hard part comes of trying to make it look real-ish.

I've decided to make the jacket a lighter color so I covered the brown up with a primer of white.

hmmm, I know I want it to be striped.. and light colored.. the question is which colors?

Sounds like I'm going to have to get out my paint-color-roll-a-dex-of-wonder. Which color, which color? Just give it a spin!

Stay artsy,

~Sarah Bosserman

Rabbits and Pocket Watches

Ah, yes another "Alice" painting.
For some reason the classic fairy tales have always resonated deeply with me
for my painting subjects. I think its the freedom of making a fantasy painting with as many lavish details and layers as I want without it slipping into the "Oh.. your a.. fantasy painter?".
Lisa Frank I am NOT. An illustrator.. yes. Someday I hope to tackle my favorite classical fairy tales like Peter Pan and Sleeping Beauty, but until then I'll experiment and master Alice in Wonderland. Baby steps.
For my series (Yes, I said series!) It'll be the characters from Louis Carol's Alice in Wonderland.
I'm approaching it as though I'm the court portrait painter. Each portrait will have hints as to who each character is, right down to the cuff-links and patterns of fabric.
First I'm starting with the White Rabbit, who is a relatively simple character.
I used a reference photo and a #2 pencil for the rough sketch.

Next, I added my rough shadows.
(Thanks Lisa!)

After that I started the first layer of color for the background and suit.

We'll see how our dear friend turns out, but don't expect it to be a quick painting. Even
With his "Don't be Late" attitude urging me on, I doubt I'll listen.
Stay Artsy,
~Sarah Bosserman

Broken Octopus

For an art class I had to do a broken window pane technique but I could pick and subject I wanted and the amount of detail I wished.

I thought about what could be really interesting with layers and pattern, so, naturally I pick an octopus :)

I've decided to name him Wembley after my favorite soccer stadium.

Wembley the Octopus..

Sarah B.

Tiny Portrait

My second piece is a tiny portrait of a mouse and his most valuable possession.

I did this on a tiny 2x4 canvas in acrylic paints.

Maybe I'll make a tiny frame for it..

A bread clip helps visualize how small this little guy is.

If you want to connect and talk about art send me a message,

~Sarah B.

sarahnicoleboss@gmail.com