Sandra Paynter Washburn

Sandra Paynter Washburn is a Chattanooga artist who holds a BFA in Art Education from UNC-Greensboro. Her studio concentrations were painting and fibers. She has taught numerous workshops throughout Tennessee, North Carolina and Georgia. She is best known for her experimental acrylic and mixed media classes that are packed with technical and aesthetic learning opportunities. Sandra has taught workshops for Tennessee Art Education Association, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Knox County Schools, Tennessee Artists Association of Knoxville, TN, Tennessee Arts Commission of Nashville, TN; Tellico Village Arts Guild, Tennessee Watercolor Society, Hunter Museum of American Art, Association of Visual Artists, Fairfield Glade Art Guild, and Signal Mountain Arts Guild, among others. Sandra is often invited to serve as juror/curator for regional art exhibitions. She is a signature member of National Watercolor Society, Southern Watercolor Society, and Tennessee Watercolor Society, where she won Best of Show in the 2006 and 2008 Tennessee Watercolor Society Biannual Exhibitions. She has participated in numerous juried art shows and her works are included in important art collections nationally and abroad.

Her work has been featured in The Artist’s Magazine, among other publications.

Sandra's statement

The two words that best describe my work, regardless of medium, are intuitive and layered.

The word intuitive applies because I seldom know what the end result will be when I start a piece of art. I don’t do preliminary sketches, and I seldom draw before beginning to paint. The immediacy of the act of painting is the rush, the feeling that says to me “Oh boy, you’re in trouble now! How are you gonna fix this?” Another thing I say to myself is “I wonder what will happen if I do this?” Then I do it, and then I know. This approach takes a willingness to sacrifice product for the sake of learning more about the process. The ultimate outcome is deeper knowledge of the possibilities of a medium, so it’s all good. The word layered applies because I innately work in layers, regardless of the medium I am using. The layers may be actual, implied or metaphorical.
Currently I am making art in three distinct categories, though the edges are blurring and the materials overlapping more and more.

First, I am an experimental acrylic artist, working on paper and canvas. I have painted seriously for 25 years. My favorite elements of art are color and texture, and strong composition is a must. I like to incorporate unexpected touches into my images, so mixing media suits my processes well. My theory is that art exists to give the eye of the viewer something to do, hopefully more than one time. My goal in painting is to the engage the viewer, evoking a response that makes the piece memorable and brings them back for a second look, and a third, and a….

Second, I am a metals artist/jewelry maker. I began working with gemstones about three years ago because I liked the immediacy of holding these tangible things in my hands and expecting to do something creative with them. Soon I succumbed to the allure of metals to complement the stones. The further I got into the metals, the more hooked I became on the processes involved and the particular challenges of this medium. I like to think of my jewelry as wearable collages/assemblages. Each one is distinctive, no two are alike, which I believe underscores the individuality of the wearer who chooses it as personal embellishment. As is the case with my 2D works, I enjoy incorporating unexpected materials and working in layers.

Recently I have embarked on a third artistic journey into assemblage, a 3D collage of sorts. There are so many materials that can be incorporated into these pieces of art, and while making them, I can use many of the techniques from both of my loves-painting and metals. I enjoy combing through junk stores for a $5 footstool so I can reuse the legs, or old sheet music and postcards, and vintage kitchen gadgets. I don’t know what I am looking for, but I know it when I see it, intuitively. Assemblage is not merely putting a bunch of random stuff together. At its best, it is about assembling parts of disparate objects, using the artistic expertise and tools that one has spent years acquiring, to make new objects that engage the eye and the mind. This is a new means of expression for me, and I can’t wait to see where it will take me.

Visit Sandra's website here.

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