Today we’d like to introduce you to Kirsten Sadlier.
Hi Kirsten, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Art has been in my life for as long as I can remember. My grandfather and grandmother were both artists and I warmly look back to the summer I was ten; learning to draw, sketch and understand perspectives from my Grandma out of a little Mickey Mouse journal she had bought me. My father was also in the art world and was an art publisher in my later childhood. As a teenager, it was very eye-opening to meet all of these energizing and eccentric people who showed me at a young age, you can do what makes you happiest in life; art.
I studied at The Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC and pursued my love of people and life as my springboard into being an adult while working at Red Bull, in college and thereafter. To this day, many of my favorite memories are of my years with Red Bull.
In 2018, after I had my second son and we were living in Seattle, I kept having this pull to create again. I was feeling so inspired, colors were brighter, there was so much love inside of me and I needed to put it somewhere. I began creating abstract art pieces and organically they began to sell through friends, local designers and through social media. This is where I had my first opportunity to be installed in a prestigious gallery; Gray Sky Gallery – it was such a surreal moment and I will forever be grateful to Laura, the owner for taking a chance on me.
I continued growing my art business during our move to the California desert in 2020 and began to work with some really wonderful designers around the country. The summer of 2021, after moving to Newport Beach and returning from a family surf session, I saw our boards drying in the sun. Again, I had this pull to create something, but this time it would be on the surfboards.
After creating many surfboards, both repurposed and custom-shaped/glassed, my business continued to grow. Inevitably, I returned to my roots of the sketching my grandmother had taught me 20-plus years ago and created my icon sketch series. As a child growing up with ADD/ADHD sketching was my way to focus in school, by moving I could somehow listen and learn. My sketch series to me is very playful and has a lot of joy behind it; it is a very innate process of creating to me.
Currently, the majority of my work is with interior designers. I love to create custom commissions for clients, and especially enjoy having the designers and clients be part of the creative experience. Art is such a personal thing, and while it always feels good to me as the creator, I want it to especially feel meaningful to the owner of the pieces. Humbly, the highest compliment someone can give is that my art moves them- whether that is happy, calming, or reminiscent of a certain memory.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It has been an enjoyable road, there has never been a time that I said, this is no longer for me, or this isn’t what brings me joy. I am so fortunate to have a husband that believes in me and supports my dreams and to be able to call him into the studio and get really great feedback. But I do think the hardest struggle along the way personally, has been balancing my focus on family with the goal and drive to continue to grow my business. There are periods of time where I will wake up at 3AM to start painting, to create before the daily chaos begins, and to be fully present on what I am working on. I love the solace of a quiet morning, candles lit, melodic techno music going through my headphones, and a hot cup of coffee while I work.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a firm believer in life; you get to write your own story- we have the choice to wake up in the morning and decide what makes you happy; what lights up your soul, and following my heart to create is just that. I am a lover of beautiful things and a lover of finding the beauty in everything. So creating art that brings more beauty and light to the world really is a dream for me. For abstracts, I am an intuitive painter, meaning I don’t sketch first- once I put paint onto the canvas, I see where it goes, looking for where the light lands and the texture spreads and balances. I wait for the piece to feel good, and I lean into it. When I create, I go deep into a mediative state, and I believe this is why the energy of my art feels very pure to so many people.
What makes you happy?
Oh gosh, there are so many things that make me happy. (haha) Honestly, the first thing that comes to mind are people. People, and especially my people, meaning my family and friends. I deeply believe my heart was never whole until I had my children. They were the catalysts I needed to begin creating again; my work is full of love and gratitude.
I love meeting new people in my personal and professional worlds; I get energized by this. So, yeah people I really love people.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.kirstensadlierart.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kirstensadlierart/?hl=en
Image Credits
Hotel Laguna: credit; EVERETT DEVELOPMENT for Hotel Laguna Kirsten, Jeep, surfboard: credi; Mari Elena for Laguna Beach living Sketch art/console: credit; The Posh Home Kirsten sketching: credit; Vera May photos opening photo: Vera May photos abstract photo: Vera May photos
