Bio
American artist Sandra Van Blair (b.1971) is a self-taught painter working out of her home studio in Sonoma County, California.
Sandra’s practice consists of drawing and painting portraits of creative individuals, mainly musical pioneers from her youth. Part meditation, part nostalgic treasure hunt: choosing her subjects stems from her deep connection to the music.
When she is not painting Sandra enjoys reading, bird watching, and going to concerts with her husband and teenage daughters.
Statement
I paint acrylic portraits of musical pioneers from my teen years, the 1980s. My subjects embody creative confidence, self acceptance and defiance of societal norms.
The painting process starts with the memory of a song. I listen to a handful and then start researching music videos. Once a video is chosen I slow it down to find the right moment in the song or an intriguing facial expression to capture. Images are manipulated to enhance the color, and then cropped to find an attractive composition. I get quite close to the face to hone in on the expression and to decipher what is behind their eyes: What are they thinking? How did they find their way in the world? Do they possess the attributes that I project onto them?
I didn’t have many positive role models as a youth, so I turned to my music for a sense of belonging and to absorb positive life lessons. The songs told me that it was okay to feel different or weird, that it was imperative that I be myself, and that life could be a great adventure of my choosing. The process of painting these individuals feels like a healing meditation. I paint them with reverence to honor their influential role in my life.
CV
Education
2019 Ten Hundred online painting class - Studio.com
1996 Oil Painting - Santa Rosa Junior College
1996 Figure Drawing under Alan Azhderian - Santa Rosa Junior College
Group Exhibitions
2025 Emerging Artist Incubator Group show, Livery CoWork - Sebastopol, CA
2025 The Majesty of Birds, Gallery at Pepperwood Preserve - Santa Rosa, CA
2025 Thousand Shades of Green, Sebastopol Center for the Arts - Sebastopol, CA
2025 FrankenShow, Rosebud Gallery - San Francisco, CA
2024 Member show, Sebastopol Center for the Arts - Sebastopol, CA
2024 Glen Ellen Wine & Art Trail - Glen Ellen, CA
2024 Guest Artist, SOFA First Friday Open Studios - Santa Rosa, CA
2023 Small Works show, Graton Gallery - Graton, CA
2023 Guest Artist, Graton Gallery - Graton, CA
Residencies
2025 Emerging Artist Incubator Program, Sebastopol Center for the Arts, Sebastopol, CA
2023 Thrive Together Network, Virtual Artist Residency - International Program
Curatorial Projects
2002 Created and curated Santa Rosa Art Walk Open Studio - Santa Rosa, CA
Professional Affiliations
2024-present Rise & Repaint Network - online global artist community
2021-2024 Thrive Together Network - online artist community