Meet Sarah Moore | Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sarah Moore and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sarah, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
After seven years working in communications 9-5 and making artwork during nights and weekends, I was exhausted. I had the constant sense that there wasn’t enough time in the day to do all the things that mattered most to me. Starting my own business seemed like the best way to have more control over how I spent my time while making work I’m passionate about. I do still work a lot – much more than I did at my day job – but now I get to spend nights and weekends with friends and family rather than painting alone in my studio.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My paintings explore the idea that nature is not a place we go, but a relationship we inhabit. By paying deep attention as I walk and hike through landscapes, my awareness expands from simply viewing a flat scene into a recognition of an ecology of meaningful lives. I think of my landscape paintings as setting the context for the more intricate floral portraits I create.

Getting to where I am now has been quite the winding path! I had always wanted to pursue art as a career, but teenage-me trusted the adults in my life who encouraged me to pick a more stable career path. I ended up studying architecture, and finished my masters degree in 2012. But by then, I’d finally admitted that it still wasn’t the right fit. I knew that the graphic design and presentation skills I’d learned in architecture school could be useful for communications, so I shifted into working as a communications coordinator, and then a communications manager, in the nonprofit sector.

During the nearly seven years I worked for the nonprofit, I was able to spend nights and weekends returning to my art practice. I very slowly began to sell my work and introduce prints and products. The decision to leave my job came after a series of times when I used vacation time in order to “catch up” on work for my business. I was starting to feel burnt out and knew I needed to make a choice.

I’ve now been running my business full-time for just over a year! It has been hard, but so fulfilling.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I just moved to San Antonio, TX from Knoxville, TN, so the entire Southwest region is new to me! I recently visited Tucson and spent time in Saguaro National Park. Next on my Arizona wish list would be to hike and camp in the Sedona area, so I’d do my best to convince my friend to rough it under the starts with me.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
The Dogwood Arts Foundation in Knoxville, TN, was an incredible source of enthusiastic support and encouragement while I built my art career and business there. I’d also like to give a shoutout to the Creative Pep Talk podcast, which served as a mentor while I spent many late night hours working alone in my studio.

Website: https://sarahmoore.studio/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahmoore_studio/

Image Credits
Erin McCall