Artist Statement

Sara Zimmerman is a mixed media painter who juxtaposes urban and natural landscapes with the detail of close-range subjects. With an illustration and graphic design background, Sara began experimenting with acrylic paints and techniques to enhance her artistic message. Though she draws on works from Gerogia O’Keeffe, Joan Brown, Richard Diebenkorn, and Paul Gaugain, Sara is mostly influenced by the expressive works of her grandmother, oil painter and former Associated Press courtroom artist, Rosalie Ritz. Sara’s newest works take the feeling of Ritz’s movement and texture and incorporate it with traditionally stationary objects, resulting in dancing telephone poles and waving trees. Sara has a Bachelor’s of Arts in environmental studies with an emphasis on science interpretation through art from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Sara’s love for the natural environment drives her to use recycled materials in her artworks and as her canvases, including recycled gift wrap, newspaper, pizza boxes, lumber from construction sites and recycled cabinet doors. Sara paints because painting is her passion in life. She uses painting as a tool to show others the benefits of slowing down focusing on the beautiful aspects of the world that usually go unseen. Sara is represented in the Truckee/North Tahoe area, Reno, and the Bay Area and has works in private collections throughout the United States.