Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Mixon.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I grew up in the Dallas-Fort Worth area so Texas has always been home to me. Ever since I can remember I was always daydreaming and drawing. My grandma inspired me growing up because she was very creative too- always sewing, crocheting, or making jewelry. When I started college, we would often talk about our projects and what we were going to make next. I loved all of her holiday decorations especially the Halloween themed ones that she would make which were usually sewn on a plastic canvas material. I loved seeing how playful and creative her works were and I believe that influenced the type of materials I use in my paintings currently and to capture the same playful spirit. I earned my BFA in painting at the University of Texas at Arlington in 2024, and with the guidance of amazing professors I found my style and direction in the arts.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I think overall for me the biggest challenge was trusting the process. Paintings take time to develop, and it can take awhile to even develop a style. It took a few semesters for me to really figure out what mediums, and materials spoke to me and represented what I wanted to say with my art. As long as you keep creating and be patient, and allow yourself to experiment with new materials- things will fall into place. We had a saying in the studio that “one bad painting leads to a good painting” and that allowed me to just create and not worry if the painting was “good” or not- sometimes it can just be a starting point and lead to something even better.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
In my current work, I am stepping away from the canvas a bit and creating more art-objects. I started creating art objects in my last semester of undergrad and was so inspired by having more surface area to paint on, and expanding on ideas from my old paintings from previous semesters in a fresh way. I’m sort of in the in-between stages so my paintings and art objects sort of play on each other through vibrant color schemes, materials, and symbols such as stars and smiley-faces. It’s been fun to experiment and focus more on the process- it’s been a good way for me to slow down and also step away from canvas which can be limiting, and create something totally new!
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
The most important lesson I’ve learned as cliche as it sounds is to never give up! A career in the arts is not an easy path, and people will doubt your choices sometimes but you have to believe in what you do and be true to yourself in the process.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: sarah.trveart
