Artist Statement
As an emerging abstract painter seeking connection with herself, Sarala finds her work registering on an emotional level. Through painting, she’s begun to find a sense of purpose and self-compassion. Paint is the one constant she holds onto to keep moving forward and connect with external surroundings. It’s an emotional and impactful experience; she doesn’t paint daily and she doesn’t paint to pass the time -- when she does engage with it, she pour hours into it, diving into a meditation that she can surface from stripped and laid bare. She finds herself in the studio when she needs to express something inside that cannot be successfully communicated in any other way. This form of creation has saved Sarala in every way. The world is a heavy and scary place to experience alone. She hopes to impact others to find their own voice through the darkness. Love and light will be on the other end, sometimes walls of anxiety and depression have to be torn down first to get there. Her message is to speak truth through frustration and to act with no rules or boundaries to fully find oneself.
Sarala pulls in colors from past paintings into new ones. Often they are colors she is not fully connected to yet, or out of her comfort zone. She brings them in patiently, listening to each color, finding the authentic meaning within it. She also allows herself to be free in her painting process and have no boundaries or rules when it comes to the technical aspects. Her recent pieces have a mix of acrylic combined with cold wax and oil textures mounting around the softer movements the acrylic liquid makes in the canvas. Blending mediums this way helps break down her own weakness, regrets, and anxieties – allowing beauty to emerge from pain. The patience that oil requires is a metaphor for how she sees life: a journey with many layers.
Timing is everything and resurrecting and knowing when a piece is finished is a slow burn; just like knowing when to turn the page and start a new chapter in life. Larger scale pieces typically take 1 - 3 months, while smaller ones take a day or two. Within her pieces, a sense of longing to be heard and seen can be found. Paint helps find her voice - and further - allow others to continue the journey to find their own light in their world.