Artist Bio

With a degree in journalism, Sara Cowan has for years been a supporter of the arts and involved in the Oklahoma City arts community as an advocate. She began painting several years ago as a stress relief tool, developing her signature style of dots and patterns. She had her first show two years later. Most of her current work, which includes murals, has a geological look.

Piece Description

“This is the first time I’ve ever done anything that is figurative or looks like an actual ‘thing,’ Sara says. “Everything I do is abstract, with lots of dots and patterns and textures. So being challenged to make something that is identifiably the AAA really got me out of my comfort zone. I’ve never had a constraint, or a goal. It just comes out of my hands. I had fun giving texture and depth to this, and I appreciate the challenge.

“To create this piece, I used a large printout of the AAA to sketch and shade in the outline of the valve on a piece of birch. Then, I used layers of acrylic paint to add detail and depth. Finally, I added thousands of dots in a halo around the valve and a starburst pattern leading to the edge of the frame.

“I wanted to emphasize the excitement Kimray has about the AAA. That’s why the piece has all these rays coming out of it and the glitter and it’s kind of popping out of the canvas.”