Today we’d like to introduce you to Shakti Sarkin
Can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today. You can include as little or as much detail as you’d like.
The first word I ever spoke was “pretty”. As a young child, I formed a face in clay, covered it in Plaster of Paris, painted the mask with wild colors and entered it in a contest. It won first place! I can still feel the exhilaration of having created something others perceived as beautiful.
During college, I received motivating feedback from professors and two artists, Leon Golub and Lynda Benglis, who all encouraged me to move to Los Angeles to “make it” as an artist. After receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree with a Painting and Sculpture focus, I took their advice and moved to Los Angeles. Reality struck — steep rents and long distances to travel anywhere made it difficult to grow my art career. With no close friends who wanted to pose for me for free, I had to hire models. Despite hardships, I won a contest for my artwork to be featured on the cover of an art materials catalog, and this kept me motivated.
I lived in South Africa for a year and a half. I met, danced and shared meals with amazing people of diverse cultures, journeyed into the mountains to see exotic plants, visited a sangoma shop – a witchdoctor shop, and went to ancient temples. Overall it was an incredible and enriching life experience that influenced my art.
After living in South Africa, London and Florida, I moved to Austin to raise my son. Although I knew few people, I started asking them to pose for me. Ever since college, I felt that figurative work was my wheelhouse. Frequently, people familiar with the subjects in my paintings state that I capture not only the likeness, but also the essence of that person. I have since branched out into painting abstracts and landscapes, but I aim to impart emotion into whatever I paint.
Twenty years ago, I got married. My new husband encouraged me to make even more art. I started painting like crazy. The opportunities for private commissions and art shows grew: People’s Gallery, West and East Austin Studio Tours, Cucina on 35th, and many other places. I am over-the-moon and grateful to finally be a full time artist now.
Getting here has been a colorful and incredible trajectory. Getting to experience diverse cultures and countries for many years helped me to play, to blossom and to mature. Having a child, raising a son and a stepson, and having a loving husband has been extremely fulfilling. I started seeing “pretty” things as a baby and now I want to reflect back to the world all the Beauty that I have seen, experienced and been given.
We’d love to learn more about your work. What do you do, what do you specialize in, what are you known for, etc. What are you most proud of? What sets you apart from others?
I love color. I love to paint with oils, acrylics and pastels. When I see colors on clothes, paintings, eyes, or in other places, I find it entertaining to imagine what tubes of paint I’d mix together and in what proportions to achieve them.
For my sculptures, I often use wood bark in my work. I weld or hand-form wire to create the sculptural armatures for pieces of bark that I paint with acrylics or leave a natural color. Wherever I go, I am collecting wood bark. In addition to making my sculptures, I am currently painting a series of tree pictures. I no longer take the benevolent and nurturing presence of trees for granted.
Nature in Texas, portraits and abstracts are my painting subjects.
What matters most to you?
In my art as well as in my life, I don’t know that any one thing matters most to me. Everything matters. Life is sacred. Respect is paramount. Each moment is extraordinary.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://shaktisarkin.com
- Instagram: @ShaktiSarkin
- Facebook: Shakti Sarkin Art
