Sarah Johnson

Collective exhibition of all graduating seniors of ASU's undergraduate art program.

November 6-17, 2006

Opening Reception 7-9 PM in Gallery 100, Tempe Center, Suite 199, Tempe, Arizona

I just updated the site with some of my more recent work, including drawings, paintings, and some photography. Please look around and sign my guest book if time permits. Thank you!

New Paintings: A Collection by ASU Undergraduates. October 3-7, 2005, Harry Wood Gallery

If you are interested in purchasing a work,
please CONTACT ME DIRECTLY by e-mailing me.
My e-mail address is under "Artist's Contact Info" near the bottom of the page.

"According to my grandmother, who is also an artist, I have been a painter since I was two. She still has the painting of a “fish” that I did when she first introduced me to watercolor. Unfortunately I am not as gifted with that medium as she is, and now I work mainly in acrylics and oils.

I have been in art classes since grade school, but was forced to abandon them once I reached junior high. I picked up where I left off when I got to high school, working my way up to AP Art my senior year, where my concentration was distortion. I ended up getting a 4 on the AP test when they sent my work to NY (the highest grade is a 5)...which gave me 3 credits toward my degree at ASU. I graduated from ASU in 2006 with my B.F.A. in Art with a concentration in painting. I now teach art to children from preschool up to third grade."

A lot of my work focuses on the interpretation of beauty. Beauty is extremely subjective, as the cliché says… “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” Also, “beauty is only skin deep,” and “beauty is truth, and truth, beauty.” With such an array of clichés to pull from, it is always intriguing to explore the different ways people define what is “beautiful” and distinguish it from what is “not.” These distinctions affect the way people treat themselves, and also the way they treat others.

I think the idea of the vague definition of beauty intrigues me so much because it ties in closely with the even more vague definition of art. I took a dramatic analysis class where, for three weeks, we argued about what art was. No one had an answer that the rest of the class would accept. Beauty is the same way; what is beautiful to one person may not be to another. Beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder.

First Place - Pen & Ink - Maricopa County Fair (4/18/2000)

First Place - Charcoal (Still Life) - Maricopa County Fair (4/18/2000)

First Place - Self Portrait (Mixed Media) - Maricopa County Fair (4/25/2001)

Honorable Mention - Acrylic landscape - Arizona State Fair (12/04/2001)

Second Place - Acrylic Self Portrait - Apollo Student Art Show (4/24/2001)

Second Place - Chalk Pastel Portrait - Apollo Student Art Show (4/24/2001)

Second Place - Acrylic Painting - Apollo Student Art Show (2002)

Second Place - Acrylic Painting - Maricopa County Fair (4/2002)

Second Place - White Charcoal Still Life - Maricopa County Fair (4/25/2001)

Second Place - Block Prints - Maricopa County Fair (4/2002)

Second Premium - Chalk Pastel - Arizona State Fair (12/04/2001)

Third Place - Watercolor Non-Objective - Maricopa County Fair (4/25/2001)

Third Place - Oil Pastel - Maricopa County Fair (4/18/2000)

Third Place - Colored Pencil - Maricopa County Fair (4/18/2000)

Third Place - Scratchboard - Maricopa County Fair (4/25/2001)

Fourth Place - Acrylic Painting - Apollo Student Art Show (4/6/2000)

Fourth Place - Scratchboard - Apollo Student Art Show (4/24/2001)

Fourth Premium - Acrylic Monochromatic Painting - Arizona State Fair (10/31/2000)

Fourth Place - Charcoal Self-Portrait - Maricopa County Fair (4/18/2000)

Honorable Mention - Acrylic Painting - Maricopa County Fair (4/2002)