Sandy Ackerman West Bloomfield
Artist Statement
Painting has been my method of connecting with the world around me for my entire life. It is the medium I use to attempt to communicate the awe I feel when I see sunlight filtering through leaves, or reflecting on a cloud, or that spark in the moment when you make eye contact with someone. My challenge is to capture those transient images in a way that communicates to others what I saw in that fleeting moment. Nature, in its perfection, creates endless opportunities for study.
My usual area of concentration has been the landscape. I recently have been interested in the figure interacting within the landscape. As I gain the perspective of age, watch my children grow, and my parents grow old, I see the stages of our lives as fleeting moments. Something to capture, preserve and communicate through my paintings.
I paint from life, plein air, in oil, trying to capture the heat of the sun or the movement of the wind. My figures are also painted from life. Those subjects caught in a moment, interacting with their surroundings. My paintings are a realistic portrayal of my interpretation of the moment, not a photographically realistic portrayal of the scene
Background information
I studied painting at The University of Minnesota, The Chicago Institute of Art, and EasternMichiganUniversity. I earned my teaching certification at EasternMichiganUniversity. After traveling the world as a flight attendant, I devoted my time to raising my children and painting murals in private homes and public spaces. I am currently teaching high school for PlymouthCantonCommunitySchool District.
Recently, I returned to painting canvases. I am anxious to share my works of art. This has been a long journey. I feel I have come full circle and arrived back at my original calling, to paint.
Exhibitions Eastern Michigan Graduate Show 2013
Juried shows
Views and Visions 2010
Canton Fine Arts 19th annual exhibition 2011
Views and Visions (award winner) 2011
BBAC MFAC 2012
Views and Visions 2012
Canton Fine Arts 2012
Views and Visions 2013
Canton Fine Arts (Merit Award Winner) 2013
Sincerely,
Sandra Ackerman
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- Wind Swept Trees
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- Silvery Beach oil 18 x 24
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- Sentinel Tree 18 x 24 oil
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- River Backwater oil 18 x 24 002 (2)
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- Red Barn oil 18 x 24
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- Nora’s Hill 24 x 30 oil on canvas
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- Copy of Waving 24 x 30 oil
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- Copy of Evening Glow 22 x 28 oil
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- Copy of Clouds over Lake Charlevoix 003
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- Carroll Road 24 x 30 oil on canvas
Michigan Plein Air Painters 
Love this artist!!!
I will be in West Bloomfield for a few weeks. I have clients also in Kalamazoo.
While I’m here I’d like to take private classes .
Please contact me @ 425-830-4131
Sandy just met you down on the bank of Clinton river , some of your paintings are quite nice!
Keep it up