Sandy Bennett’s latest work, “Inside and Out”, will hang in the Merkle and Price Galleries April 1 – May 4 with an artist reception Saturday, April 1, from 6-8pm.
Bennett is an artist whose work is an eclectic reflection of her journey through life. She laughingly calls her style ‘the Kitchen Sink’. Her vibrant watercolors and oils communicate on an emotional level.
For her second solo exhibit, Bennett focuses on a wide range of work, from nature to intimate indoor scenes. Bennett says, “Beauty can be found in unexpected places. I want the viewer to look beyond the face of the familiar.”
Bennett begins a painting with loose washes and freely applied paint. She pushes and pulls color and value until she is content with the image. All paintings are subject to alterations and paint-overs at any time. Moving back and forth among several paintings at once, she loves experimenting with different media and surfaces. According to the artist, “Some paintings are spontaneous wonders to me, while others are ‘late bloomers’, developing more slowly after many days of work.”
Bennett hopes her paintings will spur a memory or sense of pleasure for the viewer. She would like for the observer to be awakened to viewing the world in a different way. She wants them to realize that there is beauty inside and out, if they will only take the time to look for it.
Bennett resides in El Dorado, AR. When her two children were in high school, she fell into an art teacher job opening. With training primarily as an elementary teacher, she self-studied and taught herself to keep ahead of her high school students in knowledge and skills. Art became so enjoyable and enticing to her that she retired after twelve years to paint full time. Her primary love is watercolor, but she enjoys experimenting with different mediums as well. Her work hangs in private and corporate settings and sells in galleries in Arkansas and Texas.