Sarah Ebear is a 27 year old artist based out of London, Ontario, Canada.

Sarah specializes in several mediums; from digital art to painting, Sarah Ebear has been very adventurous and experimental in her art career. She has been on both sides of artwork both as a model and an accomplished artist.

The founder of Stormwing Graphics, Sarah joins us today to discuss her work and the art world in general.

Sarah: I am an acrylic artist in London, Ontario, Canada.  I specialize in depicting the strength and beauty of the female form and being.  When I originally broke out into the artistic world, I was acting as a graphic artist. I worked primarily in photoshop with a more gothic feel to my work.

I had always been a traditionalist at heart.  I started drawing with my aunt when I was little and my passion grew from there. I found beauty and solice in being able to express my emotions, hopes and fears through my art. I took a few art classes through highschool and fell in love with the paint brush and canvas. I started in oils and moved into acrylics because I found them easier to work with considering the speed with which I like to work.

When my children were born though, my art took back burner to bills and diapers. So when a friend introduced me to photoshop, which allowed me to be able to work and leave what I was doing with ease, I was hooked.

I worked for about six years in photoshop, painting only on occasion. Then earlier this year I felt a very strong draw to get back into my niche with the acrylics.  I am a firm believer that once one falls in love with the paintbrush, there is no turning back.

So with a friend, I opened an art studio in the local market and started doing my paintings on a full time basis. Now, with the economy being as unfortunate as it is, the market studio has closed and I work from my home studio again.

NWFLAA – What is the Canadian art scene like?

Sarah: I guess a question like that is really dependant on where you live.  Here in London, there are a lot of artists in a city that can tend to be too conservative to properly support them.

NWFLAA – So the mediums are more traditional?

Sarah: At least here in London.  There are a lot of graphic artists, however the city is more traditional in nature.  However, if you were to move into the larger cities such as Toronto, you would find a better market.

NWFLAA – You did some work for the Canadian government, right? What were the details of that project?

Sarah: Well, I was working for Member of Pariliament, Irene Mathyssen.  During the Fall 2008 Federal Election, I designed the election brochures that went out to the voting population. It was a very exciting experience to see my work in print as such and watch it be mass produced.  It was even more exciting for me when Mrs. Mathyssen, won the election for the riding.

NWFLAA – Why did you switch from digital art to paintings?

Sarah: I switched from my digital work into my paintings more because of my draw and passion to the brush and canvas.  Traditional work is in my blood.  It to me, provides more of a personal touch that I do not get through digital work.

NWFLAA – As someone who does both, do you think either is more valid as an art form than the other? A lot of traditional artists are hesitant to embrace digital art as an art form. Your thoughts?

Sarah: I believe that both digital and traditional works are valid in their nature and expression.  Digital work has its issues in the mass production area, however traditional works have their own challenges as well.  Namely, the time and money used in creating them, and the fact that there IS only one when you are finished.

If it is a popular piece, you move right back into the digital realm when prints are created.

However, in the expression of self and creative identity, both forms are both equally valid in the skill and forethought that goes into the pieces.

NWFLAA – Do you still work as a digital artist? Or have you completely switched to traditional art forms?

Sarah: I do still at times work as a digital artist.  I find the background that I have in the digital arts really helps to move me forward in my traditional work.  If I need to see what a painting will look like before I begin the piece, I will work it up in photoshop first.  I do also on occasion still create digital pieces on their own, especially when there is an effect that I would like to create that speaks directly to the piece that I cannot create with paint.

NWFLAA – Does anything or anyone in particular inspire your work? Do you find different things inspire your digital work or your traditional work? Different people?

Sarah: My digital work is inspired solely on emotion.  My piece, “Hurt Like Me”, was fuelled solely from the emotion felt after a particularly nasty break up.  My traditional work however, is more motivated by an original idea of my own, sometimes from a particular emotion.  My style and technique have been largely influence by the works of the pre-raphelites.

NWFLAA – What was your reason for starting Stormwing Graphics, your design firm?

Sarah: My prime reason for starting Stormwing Graphics was to be able to bring my work to the people.  I envisioned being able to create the works I had been creating for myself, for others.

NWFLAA – Would you describe the venture as successful thus far?

Sarah: No, not particularly.  I have had a few commissions thus far in regards to my digital work, however, I find that London is much too conservative of a city to support such a venture without having the financial means to back yourself up.

Unfortuantely, caring for two children on my own, did not afford that financial means, nor the intense amount time necessary to push the business forward.

NWFLAA – What advice would you offer artists looking to start their own firm?

Sarah: Do your market research.  It is a great necessity to have the market for the services that you are offering.  If you have a particular niche that you work within, it would be wise to widen that niche so that you can offer more services to a greater variety of people.

NWFLAA – So how did you get into modeling?

Sarah: I had met a gentleman from a town nearby who was a photographer.  He asked me to model for him.  It was all downhill from there.

NWFLAA – Downhill?

Sarah: Yes, downhill.  I fell in love with being in front of the camera, as well as soon finding that I love being behind the camera.  Each shoot that I did, it came easier and easier until I was able to convey an emotion, a thought, a concept with little to no difficulty at all.

NWFLAA – And you got into stock modeling to fulfill your desire to be behind the camera?

Sarah: No, actually.  I started doing the stock modelling because I was having troubles finding the poses, quality or facial expression that I required for my work.  Unfortunately, good stock models/photographers are hard to come by.

NWFLAA – Describe the feelings you experience when you put your pictures online, knowing people will manipulate them.

Sarah: It is quite a mixed blend on the emotional level, really.  In some part it is exciting and exhilerating to know that some of what you put up will inspire creative energy in another.  For the rest, its the constant self questioning as to whether or not it WILL invoke a reaction as such.

NWFLAA – Are the results people make usually good? Would you say that the self questioning is worth it in the end?

Sarah: Yes, I defintely would.  There are a lot of really great artists out there, both digital and traditional.  I have seen some amazing pieces made with the aid of the stock that I post.  There are a lot that most would cringe at, however, it is really about taking a step back to look at the skill level of the individual, where they are in their artistic journey and seeing beyond that to their vision.

It is very easy to be a critic.  It is a harder and more rewarding experience to look past your own point and view and see through theirs.

NWFLAA – How do you feel about people selling artwork featuring your image?

Sarah:  I have absolutely no problem with it and in fact, encourage it.  I do not put restrictions on my stock, except however for the child stock that I post.  For which, of course, I require permission before such sales are made.  The only reason for that is just because they are my children and I need to be sure of the images that are being put out there with them in it.  However, on the whole, people are very respectful of that fact.

NWFLAA – Do you think using stock diminishes the originality of artwork? Do you think its a crutch?

Sarah: I think it really depends on the person.  Everyone needs to judge that one for themselves.  I find that in digital work, stock is a necessity.  Sometimes acquiring that perfect image is something that is beyond a persons control.  For example, living in Canada, during January or February, finding a beach scene near by that isnt covered in snow is impossible.

NWFLAA – So what’s next in store for you?

Sarah: Currently I am working on a series that I am hoping to have completed by February 2010.  At which point, I will be bring the portfolio to local and some outside galleries in the hopes of a gallery show.

NWFLAA – What is the subject of the series?

Sarah: The pieces will be primarily focus aroung the topic of the empowerment of women, particularly those who have survived abuse in intimate relationships.

NWFLAA – What, for you personally are the pros and cons of being an artist?

Sarah: I find that there are many pros to being an artist.  I love being able to create and show my vision to the world through my work.  However, it is definitely hard to be an artist on a full time basis while attempting to maintain the responsibilities of daily life with children.  Starving artist is not a term that has been coined lightly.

It can also tend to be difficult when people ask what it is that you do.  More often then not, when you tell someone that you are an artist for your career, you are immediately dropped into the category of the hippy airhead who can’t hold a “real job”.

It can come across that you just play rather than the hard work and dedication that it does actually take to be an artist.

There are times in any job that you do, that you do not want to work.  It is those times that make or break an artist, in my opinion.

NWFLAA – How does your job as an artist and designer influence your life? Do you feel that you see things around you differently for example?

Sarah: Most definitely.  Being an artist and designer affects every part of your life.  It is a way of being.  An accountant will see the world in logic and numbers.  An artist sees the world for its possibility.

NWFLAA – Do you have any closing thoughts?

Sarah: Only the encouragement to those out there who strive to create.  When people tell you that you can’t, do it.  When you believe you can’t, work harder.  It will come with time, dedication and the desire to make the dream live.

NWFLAA – Thank you very much for your time.

Sarah: Completely my pleasure!

Stormwing Graphics:

http://www.stormwinggraphics.ca/

Below are some samples of her work.

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