about SARAH
I like to say,“Celebrate everything!”, and that even applies to my work as an artist. My paintings are a celebration of creation, a symbol of gratitude for all the beauty and wonder of the earth and sky. I aim to shine a light on the color of life.
My book, Looking Up (2022), is a compilation of this artistic celebration. More than an art book, Looking Up aims to inspire gratitude and provide perspective through the many seasons of life— from the depths of grief to the peaks of joy and all the others in between.
In 2023 I created a series of dreamy waterscapes and cloud cover which I call the Dream Catching series. This work takes the concepts from my last two series (Looking Up and Getting High) and takes off even higher. The Dream Catching paintings explore the significance of our dreams and the desires of the heart. What even is a dream, and what do we do with it? Where do dreams come from, and why should we want to “catch” our dreams?… wild as they may be. What if we have forgotten to dream? How then do we begin again? What if it has been years since we were given that permission? And why did we lose it in the first place? Where do dreams live? And where will they take us? These paintings explore this sky of questions, earthing the answers one painted cloud at a time.
In addition to painting and writing, I embrace opportunities to step out into communities to read from Looking Up and speak to groups about my art career, my inspirations, and most of all, to share words of encouragement. Recently, I was honored to be the keynote speaker at the “Celebrate Life” fundraiser benefiting the Infirmary Foundation in Mobile. I have also greatly enjoyed visiting elementary schools to read from my children’s book To Be A Line . My ministry platform, “Growing Wild”, is another way that I enjoying connecting with and encouraging others to lead a life of creative, courageous and colorful faith.
(Please contact us to inquire about a speaking opportunity.)
1989
And when did this all begin? Well, I have no idea… because for as longs I can remember, I have enjoyed making stuff. As a teenager, I began selling my paintings, and to this day making art has been my only job. In 2007, I graduated from Ole Miss with a Fine Arts degree (BFA) with an emphasis in painting. That year I moved back to my hometown, Mobile, AL, and rented a studio where I began working as a full time painter. I spent the next twelve years focused primarily on painting all the while doing a great deal of writing to dig into the concepts of my abstract art. In 2019, I wrote To Be a Line, a children’s book about courage, purpose and trust. In August of 2019 I opened Sarah Otts Gallery in Mobile; a home to my many creative endeavors including my “Be a Bright Spot” campaign to further inspire others. Now, after my ventures in retail, I have relocated my studio in my home where I continue to paint, write and develop my Growing Wild ministry.
My husband, Robert, and I have three children, Lelia, Sonny and Josephine (“Fifi”) who continue to teach and inspire me everyday. For now, working from home is where and how I can find balance between home and work life. I know that painting is something I want to always enjoy, and so maintaining a spiritual, intimate process is important to me.
I’ve been a dedicated painter for most of my life. While this is my job, art is also my retreat, my way of finding clarity. The quietness of creative work lets me discover a sense of higher wisdom and perspective. In a busy world full of agendas and pressures, painting restores my peace and teaches me to lead an intentional life of good purpose. My process has as much to do with a prayerful mindset as it does the materials with which I work. I prefer oil paint for its leniency, slowness and willingness to move and build. (I quite like those characteristics in general I suppose!) I focus primarily on developing a comfortable balance within the painting’s composition. I devote a large amount of the composition to negative space; this creates an area for the eyes and heart to rest allowing the more active areas of the composition to have greater appreciation. Because, as we know, too much a good thing is not such a good thing—exhausting even. I want to create a painted retreat from the hustle— art that speaks to the peace I feel as I paint. I hope to also inspire creative courage in viewers. I like to allow my paint to drip and smear— not too concerned with these elements. It allows the painting to feel alive and real. There is a tender balance in my art— a teeter between extremes; a desire to create beauty and wonder while maintaining fluidity, ease and openness.
As I paint, my paintings have a way of communicating and addressing topics completely unrelated to paint itself. These concepts seem to bubble up to the surface of my mind while I create, and I write and share about these epiphanies and understandings in my Instagram stories, posts and on my blog, Behind the Paint.
Art inspires us to see, to look up with honest eyes and begin to notice the natural beauty around us. What did that artist see in that scene that another may have over looked? How did they learn to create that way? These are the questions I find myself asking when I look at art.
May we all rediscover the wonder we once had as wide-eyed children. I believe I was born with noticing eyes, and that curiosity never left me. My vision permits me to see what many might miss. It is my hope that though my art, writing and speaking, I am able to inspire others to look up like an artist, stay curiously creative, and for God’s sake, celebrate everything!
read on @ Behind the Paint.
2019