Meet Sarah Roberts | Nature Artist

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

Hi Sarah, every day, we about how much execution matters, but we think ideas matter as well. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
My business idea came together as the intersection of what I was looking for in a job, my skills, and what excites me in life. I knew I wanted to start my own business for several reasons: increased flexibility in my work schedule and location, and to pursue my longtime dream of being an entrepreneur. I was considering an art-based business because I knew I had artistic skills (I won several art competitions in high school and since then had done many pieces as graduation or wedding presents for friends) and I loved doing art. My husband and I were preparing for an elk hunt and were spending a lot of time hiking in the woods, and I started taking pictures of beautiful wildflowers. I’ve always LOVED flowers. My mom used to call me her “flower girl” because I was always playing with the flowers in her garden when I was a kid. One day I was walking our dog and a light bulb just went off in my head: what if I painted all the flowers I could find over the course of a year? I could put them together in posters of wildflowers, sets of thank you cards, individual prints, etc. I ended up photographing and identifying almost 200 species! I have so much fun chasing new species, I want my customers to experience the same appreciation of the vast intricateness of nature that I only started to notice once I began looking for it.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My art style is characterized by attention to detail. I want the viewers of my art to see the flowers in all their glory, to feel like they are in person seeing the flower in nature, and to get a sense of the flower’s personality. For example, one flower I recently painted is called the Skyrocket. It blooms many bright orange-red flowers on a tall stalk, where each flower has spiky petals shooting open radially from a long tube throat. The throat is covered with pale orangey dots – it makes you think of fireworks with sparks shooting out! While I don’t include any landscape backgrounds to my pieces, I try to use light and shadow to convey the feeling of the environment where the flower grows. For instance, I painted the Kingcup cactus with heavy, dark shadows behind brilliantly lit cacti segments with glowing flower petals to convey the bright desert sun throwing deep shadows and backlighting the flowers.

In terms of developing the painting skills, getting to this point professionally for me boiled down to paying attention to the distinctive features of the subject and persevering in shaping the work to accurately convey the subject. I don’t spend time watching how to paint tutorials, but I do scrap pieces and try again all the time! Some aspects of painting that have challenged me particularly are the subtleties of shadows on white flowers, and showing textures (like hairy stems or leaves). The biggest key for me is to slow down and patiently take the time needed. It may mean I don’t paint as many pieces in a week that I wanted to, but if my pieces come out capturing the beauty of the flowers, then its worth it. Ultimately, I want to inspire people to get out and enjoy nature for themselves, and that involves doing justice to it’s beauty.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I’m guessing this question is in reference to an area in Arizona. When I started working on Flower Girl Paintings, we were living in Santa Fe, New Mexico and traveling a bit around the southwest (including a trip to Arizona). Since then, we’ve moved to the southeast, but I’ll answer as if we were still living in the southwest. I’d start by taking my friend to Sagche’s Coffee, my favorite local coffee shop in Santa Fe! They have the most amazing breakfast burritos and, of course, delicious coffee. Then I’d take them to the Rio Grande Gorge with its stunning walls of rock, Desert Big Horn sheep, and the rushing river filled with trout. Then there is hiking to do in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains or Carson National Forest where we will find delicate mountain wildflowers, Mule Deer, and if we’re lucky, elk and bobcats. There is the incomparable sunset in the desert in the public land just outside of Santa Fe to catch. There we’d find jackrabbits, blooming cacti, and hear coyotes yipping. We’d wind up the day getting a California burrito from the Burrito Spot on Cerillos Road. We’d take a weekend trip to see the Grand Canyon and Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona. We’d grab some burritos to go from Tacos Los Altos in Flagstaff, and swing south towards Phoenix to catch the magnificent saguaros near Black Canyon City. We’d wind up the trip doing a little star gazing in the dark desert.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I have so many shoutouts! First, I have been inspired by countless small business owners whose perseverance and success encouraged me that I could have my own business too. Every time I encounter a small business owner, whether its a coworker starting a wedding venue business on the side, a local coffeeshop, a local boutique owner, or family members who run their own business, I get inspired by their success. Additionally, I picked up a fantastic book when I first decided to try to start my own business: “Business Boutique” by Christy Wright. One of the early chapters in the book deals with pushing past fears and outright lies that hinder you from starting your own business. One point the author makes that really hit home for me was that just because “someone is already doing it better” is not a good reason to not start your own business because “there’s room for you too.” Realizing this truth has set me free from tearing myself down when I see other artists’ fantastic work, and instead to get inspired by my fellow artists! Lastly but most importantly, my family, friends, and even random people I meet at social gatherings who ask me “what do you do for a living?” have all been incredibly encouraging and supportive.

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

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-roberts-09194127/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/flowergirlpaintings