MEET S.F.G. HOWELL
Sarah’s fundamental vision is to create works that speak truth: an intimate truth discovered in the colorful illustration of the particulars and a universal truth exposed within the depiction of humanity and life. In such a rendering, Sarah’s work seeks to capture both the intimate and the collective, both the private and the public.
Sarah is trained in the Classicism and Impressionistic traditions. Her primary focus is commissioned-based portraiture and landscape.
ARTIST STATEMENT
"Life is beautiful. Art seeks to capture and celebrate beauty. We all participate in the creation and celebration of beauty - in some ways that are particular to us and in other ways that are universal through the gift of existence.
Art is a prophet, a muse, a herald, attempting to remind us of the reasons why we do what we do – why we exist. Perhaps it’s a whisper, sometimes it may be a shout, but art calls us to remember and see our meaning.
Thus, a passion for art is a passion for life itself. Art celebrates this lovely and gritty existence. It revels in the glory of the lilies of the field while not diminishing the reality of our pains and struggles. And as a prophet, it calls us to examine and question. It calls us to truly live.
Artist as student - To be an artist is to join in the song of Art; to attend to the original art, Creation. Therefore, to be an artist is to attend to the True Artist’s cries and echoes seen around us. The representational artist listens and then shares the truths seen with those around them. As we listen, as we open our hearts, I believe every artist will see glimpses of the True Artist’s heart.
Artist as teacher - I contend that every human soul must be reminded of the beauty Art draws our attention to. Only when we cherish the good are we reinvigorated to fully live. For it is in true beauty and goodness that we see the light (and experience the love) of God. That is why I, as a teacher, desire to help others see through the eyes of an artist, not just as viewers of art, but by helping them be listeners and sharers - artists - themselves!
Artist as painter - As a commission-based portrait artist, I want to share and celebrate the true beauty and goodness which is imprinted on all of us as humans. We are each uniquely designed and made for a purpose with invaluable worth. Portraits speak truth: intimately by the revealing of an individual’s spirit and universally by the celebration of one’s life. My aim is to harness my training in the art of portraiture in order to better be equipped to display the intimate and universal beauty in every person I paint."
-S.F.G. Howell
TRAINING
Rather than entering a traditional art program, Sarah studied fine art under Master Artists. Her principal mentors were Cedric and Joanette Egeli. Under her full-time, four-year apprenticeship with Joanette and Cedric Egeli, Sarah was trained in the classical tradition with a harmonious blend of impressionistic color.
Sarah training in Provincetown, MA.
Cedric and Joanette Egeli in their studio in Annapolis, MD.
Her countless other influences and teachers - Timothy Chambers, Rick Casali, John Clayton, John Ebersberger, and Margret McWethy - have mentored and shaped the way that Sarah approaches the discipline of art.
The training of an artist is an on-going process. It never stops. Partly because capturing life - in all of its fullness - is no small task, and partly because there is always more to learn!
THE EARLY YEARS
“If I were giving a young man advice as to how he might succeed in life, I would say to him, pick out a good father and mother, and begin life in Ohio” - Wilbur Wright
From a family that fostered wonder…
Born and raised in the Midwest, Sarah grew up in a home where it was the responsibility of a human soul to live an examined life - to understand the “why” and “how” of everything. This veracious wonder for life (one might call it “a love of learning”) propelled Sarah into pursuing a Philosophy Bachelors Degree and a Perpetual Membership in the Torrey Honors College.
Sarah got the amazing opportunity to think with hundreds of great minds, past and present, about all facets of life. At the end of those three years, Sarah got to explore importance of wonder and visual arts and put some of her thoughts down in ink.