Featured Artist: Sara Skogsberg
I found Sara Skogsberg’s work on Pinterest and was immediately drawn to the woodprint nature of her art. Her pieces consistently showed bold strokes as if imprinted by a stamp carefully carved to show these details.
Sara Skosberg just completed three years of art school in Gothenburg, Sweden, and is currently seeking a conservator position. Drawing has always been a passion for Sara since she was four years old, but she didn’t really put much time into it until a few years ago when she decided to pursue her craft full-time.
According to Sara, the woodprint appearance of her work is not intentional, and that I was not the first to mention that observation. She enjoys working with ink and Promarkers after spending a lot of time drawing using pencil as a teenager, but is still looking for the perfect medium with which to use her ink and markers.
We asked Sara what her process was in creating art and she said that to her it is a mindless thing, a feeling that she allows to take over. She doesn’t decide what the outcome is and is as excited about the result of her work. On the downside, she shares what many artists feel as a common dissatisfaction with their work, a desire to do better. But artists know that this self-awareness is critical in their creative development.
The artist shared the following works for exhibition at Creativation Space:
“Birth” was the first that struck me as I was perusing a random board on Pinterest. To me, the piece reminded of the simple illustrations found in old books, presumably made for ease in reproduction or printing. It has the appearance of being simply black and white without any midtones, where all parts of the drawing relating to nature have a certain pattern of shading except for the subject that is drawn only as an outline and is white. It draws the eye to the middle of the painting and to the subject. The texture of the medium also plays a part in this piece, where one can see the quality of the paper, its color and fiber seeping through the drawing, adding such a character not provided by the simplicity of the drawing.
“Through Me” is a painting that raises questions. It is consistent with the bold strokes of the artist as well as her plays in texture. I especially admired the singular quality of the hair of the subjects. It fuses them together as one unit.
“Feeling Something” follows the tradition of “Birth” in its wood print quality, but with color. I loved the detail of this piece as well as the choice of animals.
“Owl Queen” looks like a classic textbook illustration if there was one.
Special thanks to Sara Skogsberg for sharing her work and answering our questions! We are looking forward to your artistic journey.
