"STAYING THE COURSE IS A COLLECTION OF REPRESENTATIONAL NARRATIVE PAINTINGS, PAINTED BETWEEN 2021 AND 2025.
TO "STAY THE COURSE" BY DEFINITION, MEANS TO PERSIST WITH A PLAN, POLICY, OR EFFORT TO THE VERY END, PARTICULARLY DESPITE FACING DIFFICULTIES, SETBACKS, OR CRITICISM. IT SIGNIFIES MAINTAINING DEDICATION, ENDURING CHALLENGES, AND REFUSING TO GIVE UP UNTIL A GOAL IS ACHIEVED. (MERIAM-WEBSTER)
I HAVE STAYED THE COURSE IN CHOOSING TO PAINT FROM MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE AND BE RESOLUTE IN WHAT I BELIEVE IT TAKES TO BE AN ARTIST.
GROWING UP WHITE, PRIVILEGED, FEMALE, SOUTHERN AND WITH DIVORCED PARENTS, ONE STRAIGHT AND ONE GAY HAS AFFORDED ME A RICH POINT OF VIEW OF THE WORLD. MY BACKGROUND IN THEATER, TV AND FILM HAS NURTURED MY STORYTELLING SKILLS AND MY JOURNEY AS A MOTHER, WIFE AND TEACHER CONTINUE TO BROADEN MY VIEWPOINT, FOR WHICH I AM SO GRATEFUL.
AS MY PAINTING STYLE HAS DEVELOPED OVER THE YEARS I HAVE UTILIZED THESE VARIED EXPERIENCES TO INFORM MY PAINTING AND MY PROCESS. I FIND THAT PAINTING FROM A PLACE OF AUTHENTICITY AND VULNERABILITY NURTURES A CONNECTION TO THE VIEWER’S PERSONAL NARRATIVE THAT LEAVES A LASTING IMPRESSION.
I WORK PRIMARILY FROM STAGED PHOTOS AND SUPPLEMENT WITH PRINTED RESEARCH THAT I HAVE BEEN COLLECTING OVER THE YEARS. I WILL ALSO PAINT FROM VINTAGE FAMILY PHOTOS. ALL OF THIS PROVIDES A BASIC ARMATURE FOR MY WORK. DETAILS, SUCH AS PATTERNS, SURFACES, OBJECTS ARE MINED FROM MY MEMORY, STORIES THAT HAVE BEEN PASSED DOWN OR OBJECTS THAT I HAVE. I AM ABLE TO RESPOND TO WHAT THE PAINTING NEEDS ON A VERY PERSONAL LEVEL WHEREAS PHOTOS CAN BE LIMITING, NOT JUST TECHNICALLY BUT PERSONALLY.
I BELIEVE THAT AS AN ARTIST YOU MUST BE IN FOR THE LONG GAME: HAVING THE ABILITY TO STAY STEADY WHILE ‘RIDING THE TIDE’, PAINTING WHAT YOU ARE INTERESTED IN, WHAT YOU ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT, STAYING FRESH IN YOUR PRACTICE. IT IS OFTEN A CHALLENGE TO CREATE REALISTIC GOALS FOR YOUR BUSINESS WHILE BALANCING A WORK/FAMILY LIFE. IT IS CRUCIAL TO HAVE SUPPORT FROM OTHER ARTISTS, COLLEAGUES, YOUR FRIENDS AND YOUR FAMILY. MOST IMPORTANTLY YOU MUST “STAY THE COURSE” OF BELIEVING IN YOURSELF AND YOUR WORK, WITHOUT QUESTION."
- SARA LEE HUGHES
VISIT THE VIRTUAL GALLERY
FEATURED ARTWORKS
Download the free Kunstmatrix app art.augmented for iOS or art.augmented for Android and demonstrate at the spot how the work of art would look like in reality.
Scan the QR code to view selected artworks in your space:
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Sara Lee was born in Dallas, Texas in 1968. She graduated Texas State University (formerly Southwest Texas State University) with a BFA in theatrical design. After college she moved to the east coast, working as a scenic painter for television, film and theater. In 1995 she began studies in the classical methods of drawing, painting and printmaking at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, where she earned a certificate in painting and printmaking. In 2003 she received a fellowship to the Vermont Studio where she developed a body of work around the life of her father. The processes and work created during her month long residency with Vermont Studio have been pivotal to the growth of her work over the last 20 years. After Vermont, she moved to New York and earned her Masters in Painting from Pratt Institute. She moved back to Texas in 2008, sustaining herself through scenic painting and teaching. Currently she has a full time studio practice and teaches art at Lockhart Montessori School.
Sara Lee draws inspiration from the representational painters Antonio Lopez Garcia, Bo Bartlett, Edward Hopper, the varied works of William Kentridge and the figurative paintings of Jenny Saville. The skills she accumulated in theater and film continue to inform her process and composition. Motherhood in 2012, provided a new lens in which she views the world and her work.
Sara Lee lives and works in Central Texas with her husband Michael and their daughter Marlowe.
"My paintings are representational narratives influenced by my growing up in Texas during the 1970’s and 80’s with divorced parents.
They are created from moments, memories and ideas that highlight my journey navigating the differences between my gay father and my straight mother, the socio-cultural political norms of the era in which they were raised and the socio-cultural political norms of my own generation.
The paintings rely on my theater experience in acting and design. I cast myself as the characters. The scenes are composed with attention to direction, costume, lighting and set design. I self reference my work in order to strengthen the meaning of motif and narrative. I exaggerate the familiar and make it improbable. Southern colloquialisms and Pop Culture provide elements of humor. The sense of nostalgia and familiarity is created through costume, objects and my palette, inspired by vintage magazine ads of the 1940’s, 50’s and 70’s.
All of these elements help nurture a connection between the narrative and the audience. My intention is to create work that highlights and/or identifies behaviors, values and stereotypes that derive from unquestioned traditions and cultural practices.
Currently I am exploring society’s attempts at trying to strike a balance between the need to be our truest selves and the tether of antiquated social expectation, consumer culture, social media, and how this experience fits into our country’s broader, social and cultural narrative."
