Meet Sarah Sneeden ~

"... she has a distinctive painting style with the permanency of oils!"

Sarah Sneeden has been a North Carolina resident since 1967 and is a native of Pennsylvania. She graduated from Centenary College in New Jersey, the Famous Artists School, the New York Institute of Photography, and the Portrait Institute of New York. Annual workshops in the West (Montana, Arizona, Idaho, New Mexico, and California) have added educational experience and new ideas to her painting repertoire. A voracious reader, Sarah’s extensive art library (close to 500 volumes) keeps the art world at her fingertips. She is an associate member of Oil Painters of America; has won Best of Show awards in Brevard, Tryon, and Hendersonville, North Carolina; and, was awarded the Grumbacher Gold Medallion for excellence in the ’99 Pen Women Show.

Sarah’s forty years of experience, distinctive style and versatility are evident in her original and innumerable works of art. She likes watercolors, primacolor pencils, and pastels for sketching but prefers the permanency of oils for her finished pieces. When she can find a sunny spot, Sarah’s favorite way of working is en plein air – working out-of-doors on location where she can study firsthand the play of light on her subject but it is in her studio, she will then complete her larger pieces. Sarah experiments with the season and the subject -- always seeking to interpret reality with sure brushstrokes, rich color, and verve. In 2003, Sarah painted WICKWIRE’s “Miss Pickwick” a whimsical bear displayed on the sidewalk as part of Hendersonville’s Downtown Hendersonville, Inc. Bearfootin’ in Hendersonville fundraiser. In 2004, she showcased a body of 42 original oil paintings in “Treasures of the Forest” – a one-woman show at WICKWIRE depicting the natural beauty of the DuPont State Forest. In October 2006, Sarah’s oil painting “Parkway Peace” of mountains and a waterfall against the fleeting color of an autumn backdrop was awarded Third Place in the 7th annual WICKWIRE “City of Four Seasons in Two Dimensions” juried exhibition themed Seasonal Splendor. Today, Sarah’s book Treasures of the Forest is a superb collection of her original paintings of the waterfalls, trails, and towering pines of the DuPont State Forest and, through sales of each book a portion of the proceeds is being donated to Friends of DuPont Forest a volunteer organization whose purpose is to ensure that present and future generations will enjoy treasures of the forest.

Sarah is a teacher of art and a student of it, as well. In November 2006, she conducted a 3-day workshop sponsored by The Hendersonville Art League. In May 2007, she gave a watercolor demonstration for the Connestee Art League and in 2006 & 2007, she demonstrated her oil painting technique at WICKWIRE for patrons. Her ongoing pursuit of excellence is seen in her 2007 study of portraiture with Rick Nelson thru the Hendersonville Art League and by her attendance at a Lorenzo Chavez workshop thru the Scottsdale Art School in Tucson, Arizona. Sarah Sneeden is proudly represented by WICKWIRE fine art/folk art in Hendersonville, North Carolina.