Today we’d like to introduce you to Sara Oakley.
Hi Sara, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I am an artist and arts activist, concentrating on 2 & 3 dimensional art and artists. Beyond my own work in painting and drawing, I teach extensively and own Oakley Gallery (a collective) and Art Colony Georgia (a private group studio), both in Gainesville, and serve as Art Director for Hemlock Studio Gallery in Clarkesville. I’m passionate about discovering and supporting artists and artists-in-the-making, whether through teaching workshops and classes or developing venues for original work to be shown and sold. With an eye toward keeping these art programs simple, affordable and sustainable, I find that my services to art communities fall into the more practical and anti-fancy categories. In other words, more hands-on creation and no-frills showing and less esoteric mindset and society events.
I love inclusive thinking that says “Everyone can make art”, and is unconcerned with degrees and awards. As part of that philosophy, talent is something you earn with desire and work, not something that is conferred at birth. You should be able to see this philosophy at work in the galleries I have owned or influenced, and there have been 6 over the years. You can feel it in the working art groups I cobbled together in different communities. And it’s possible that my love for the nuts and bolts of making art shows in my own work.
However, my best skill is pulling together remarkable people and just believing in them. So, in 50+ years as an illustrator, fine artist, teacher and business owner, I have collected an amazing circle of artists and collectors.
Life is very good.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Has the road been smooth? No, but it has been paved with inevitability. In any place, there are people who have always wanted to paint or draw. It just a matter of making programs that envelop and empower a beginner. And then including those beginners into a welcoming community that supports their growth. I care deeply about accessibility and affordability, so the simple challenge of managing time and a tiny budget means that each month can be a challenge.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m a contemporary artist. The subject drives the choice of media, which can include oil, watercolor, mixed media, pastel and drawing. With the exception of drawing, realism is never my goal. I hope that my paintings convey the joy I experience as I make them. Loose, sweeping, thick or transparent, clean layers, visible brushwork and highly interpretive color — led less by presenting a recognizable “Oakley”, and more by sharing the serendipity of the inspiration of the moment. I don’t paint to communicate concepts so much as to just love the paint.
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
To find a mentor, take a class. Before you choose an instructor, look at their work. It’s probably right there, online. The world is somehow full of art teachers who can neither paint nor draw, so do some research. If you find a capable teacher, you will very likely see a community formed around that teacher. That being said, if you find a good instructor, have enough personal dedication to prioritize class times in your schedule. Good teachers invest their hearts into good students.
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