Close, But No Cigar Painting

Sarah Amiel was born on Long Island and moved to New York City after receiving her bachelor degree in Advertising from Michigan State University. She earned her MPS graduate degree in Art Therapy from the School of Visual Arts, NY in 2011, with a concentration in challenged populations. In working with at-risk youth and children in various settings, she learned how to promote a sense of mastery with clients that offset the learned helplessness acquired during traumatic experience—reintroducing clients to the experience of play in a safe way. While writing her master’s thesis, she simultaneously completed a feature screenplay based on her own childhood experience. She landed an agent, moved to Los Angeles, produced multiple docuseries and feature specs... all that failed to sell. Burnt out from chasing a myriad of shiny objects in Hollywood, she shifted her focus from writing and producing back to painting - with a wiser and more informed perspective. She was (and continues to be) committed to the process of creation. Sarah’s visual storytelling examines group interactions and relationships through various mediums. She is interested in the theory of 'rupture and repair' within the framework of human relationships and the trauma that surrounds those experiences. She translates those accounts onto the canvas using black ink, paint, pastels (and a dash of humor) to convey the emotions of a layered story. She currently resides in Los Angeles and can be seen in Venice pounding Moon Juice, practicing yoga and perfecting Transcendental Meditation (otherwise known as the LA cliché).