Sarah Williams

Sarah Williams: Remote America
Art Museum of Southeast Texas, Beaumont
January 19 – April 7, 2013

Sarah Williams: Remote America exhibits familiar scenes transformed by glowing lights and enveloping darkness. Sarah Williams’ oil paintings recognize the beauty and isolation that can be found in seemingly ordinary places such as car washes, gas stations, and parking lots. Much of her artwork is a reflection of the rural Midwest where she grew up. She is drawn to the familiar places that are often ignored, but are always present on the periphery. Williams depicts these scenes as lonely, remote places illuminated by an eerie glow and surrounded by vast darkness. The artist’s use of saturated color creates an intense and expressive depth and mood in her images.

Williams taught painting and drawing at the University of North Texas. She is now a tenure track professor of painting and drawing at Missouri State University. Williams will be leading a lesson with Ozen High School students on chiaroscuro- the use of strong contrast between light and dark to achieve the illusion of three-dimension. In addition, she will visit with the Odom Junior Docents. After the students view her artwork, they will learn about her approach to painting and her source of ideas. Williams will explain how she renders glowing lights and how to incorporate the drama of light to strengthen an image. She will also describe how to create a dramatic format in artwork, and establish different fields of focus and depth.