My Secret Signature

When I was in first grade my teacher taught us how to draw animals using letters of the alphabet. I really only remember that we made a whale out the letter W ... and then there was the S-Duck. Since my name began with S, I quickly had a natural affinity to this letter.  Who knows, perhaps this is where my love for drawing birds also was birthed. I started drawing the S-Duck on every piece of paper I could get my hands on. I even drew it on sidewalks with chalk...and on a shirt sleeve...and maybe on a basement wall. (Not on a basement wall if my mom is reading this.)

The S-Ducky, which it affectionately became known as, needed scenery and a lovely, utopic world to live in. My drawings began to portray S-Ducky floating on top of blue ocean water filled with seaweed, clams, fish and rocks. The sky was always blue and the sun was shining. 

A bit embarrassing is the evolution of S-Ducky drawings after this point.  I'm not sure when I became so obsessed with love and marriage, but my six year old brain thought this must be the measure of pure bliss... so, of course Mr. S-Ducky met Mrs. S-Ducky and they expressed their love with marriage vows on the Sea of Love.

Years ago, when I was getting started down my professional painting path, my sister said I should put some sort of personalized signature on the back of my original paintings. She then said, "You need to put the S-Ducky!" We both laughed, and it definitely seemed fitting. For several years now, the S-Ducky has been my "secret signature" on the back of my paintings. So please know that if you own one of my paintings, you actually own two pieces of my art, and the S-Ducky is my love stamp.

Share Something With Someone Today

My request is that you share something about yourself with someone today that you normally wouldn't share, or with someone that normally you wouldn't share yourself with.  I promise, the result will be freeing for you, and it will open up communication with the other person that you never knew could exist.

Openly Sharing, 16 x 48, Sold

Recently inspired by a FaceBook campaign to get artists talking about their work, I realized how much we artists have to share and often forget the road we traveled, getting us to where we are currently.  This campaign has created the opportunity to see my artist friends work and hear their stories. Causing me and others to know them newly and in a richer context of who they are as people and artists. Artists often have to come from a vulnerable space to create, then they have to have courage to put their work in front of an audience, knowing that human beings will always be judging and assessing... that is just what we humans do.

This makes me think about how we human beings, in general, don't share ourselves enough in an authentic way. By authentic way, I mean exposing thoughts and feelings in a way that is real with no fear or concerns of being judged. Why don't we share? We don't share for so many reasons;  we want to be liked, we don't feel like what we say is important, it can be uncomfortable to share, we want others to do the work, we don't have confidence, we feel embarrassed, we are afraid of what others will say or not say, we think we are stupid ... And it goes on and on.

Creating A Community, 40 x 30, Sold

When we don't share, we forget our own greatness and rob others of our contribution.  It is freeing and can be the greatest gift to ourselves to be known.  We also forget that it is in us sharing that other people can be inspired and called into action about what they can have for their lives.  To have no constraints in being able to express ourselves, leads to love with no constraints in all of our relationships. And for those of you, like myself, that tend to want to withhold their feelings, have the courage to be open and straight with people. Remember, people like a straight shooter, they know where they stand, and you get to the experience of being true to yourself. 

The Artist 3x5 Challenge on Facebook consists of artists nominating other artists to share 3 of their works for 5 days. I think it has been beneficial for getting to know artists better and also created a sense of community with artists. 

Some of my artists friends that I have enjoyed getting to experience their work during the Artist 3x5 Challenge on Facebook are: Rip Caswell, Buzz Siler, Flora Bowly, Martin Burch, Theresa Andreas-O'leary, Juliette Crane, Jeni Lee, Katherine Treffinger, Paulette Insall 

Life Energy, Sarah Goodnough Painting

Life Energy (36 x 48) Sold,  Prints Available

 The source light is in all things, it is everywhere.  

Sarah Goodnough Painting of Queen Anne's Lace

I remember being a little girl and looking up at the tall Queen Anne's lace in my neighbor, Mrs. Gaston's english garden. It made an impression on me, I'm not quite sure why. Perhaps a combination of it's tall delicate simplicity and it's name, "Queen Anne's Lace". After all, who was this Queen Anne and did she really use this flower for lace?

With a star burst of white flowers on lime green stems, there is something enchanting about this wild flower that pops up along roadsides, meadows, gardens, parking lots and anywhere else it can find a place to grow. It is a prolific flower, growing wild and free, dotting July and August landscapes with hints of summer memories come and gone. I am sure I could google the story of how this flower got it's name, however, I believe it is the nostalgia brought back by seeing it year after year, showing up where least expected and taking one back to sweet times that makes this wild flower so fit for a queen.

I titled this acrylic painting "Delicate Nostalgia". It is 36 x 36. The original has sold, but I do have limited edition giclee canvas prints available in 40 x 40, 36 x 36 , 30 x 30 and 24 x 24. Refer to my website, sarahgoodnough.com for pricing and more available prints.

Birds in Flight Paintings

On the Rise (40 x 30) Mixed Media, Original Sold

Lunar Migration (24 x 24) Mixed Media on Canvas, Original Sold

Winged Ascension (36 x 48) Acrylic on Canvas, Original Sold, Prints Available

Flight (36 x 48) Acrylic on Canvas, Original Sold, Prints Available

Embarking Daybreak (36 x 48) Acrylic on Canvas, Original Sold, Prints Available

Crimson Flurry (24 x 24) Mixed Media on Canvas, Original Sold

Coastal Migration (24 x 24) Mixed Media on Canvas, Original Sold

5 O'clock Meadow (30 x 30) Acrylic on Canvas, Original Sold, Prints Available

Taking Flight (40 x 30) Mixed Media on Canvas, Original Sold

I have always been captivated by watching birds fly. This series was inspired by capturing that fleeting, beautiful moment when a flock of birds gracefully takes flight. They are so in tune with one another, I am always in awe of their directional instinct, powerful wings, light bodies, and elegant flying ability.

I used silver and gold leafing in some of these as a design element. Many people say they see a rock wall, and like the juxtaposition of manmade structure and nature. I like to let people use their own imagination to make sense of the abstraction. By putting a recognizable concrete subject like birds in the picture, the brain is forced to bring understanding to the background.

I do have giclee prints of some of these paintings available in print sizes, 18 x 27, 24 x 32, 30 x 40 and 36 x 48. The silver and gold leaf do not print well, so there are not any giclee prints available paintings with this element.

Tree Sketches for a Commissioned Painting

Thumbnail sketches for a commission that I am working on. The client wants to have four large paintings of a tree that changes with the seasons to hang over their fire place. It will be a vertical 40 x 60. I will work a few of these into some colored renderings that give the client some ideas and choices for their paintings. It is good to clarify and narrow down what they envision for their home.

I typically do not work from sketches, but it is nice to come up with several concrete ideas. Perhaps a few of these will show up in some other paintings of mine. It is exciting for me to think of all the color possibilities with the same scene, and the same shaped tree, creating so many different paintings around one concept.

Inside My Art Studio

After moving in July, I have been working in my new studio. It has been freeing to be in a larger space that I can step far back and see my paintings at a distance. I am so grateful and working on making it my dream studio.

I am currently in the process of remodeling the space... my significant other doesn't care to hear my music through the paper thin/non insulated ceiling, and I can never seem to play my music loud enough:-) I am thankful that he is an architect and knows how to fix the situation. I also am having adequate lighting put in, painting the walls and putting in new flooring ... I am so excited, truly a kid at Christmas.

I have been working around the contractors, putting away all my supplies and bringing them out again when they are gone... it definitely is a minimalist working situation at the moment.