We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Mary Sauer. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Mary below.
Hi Mary , thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?
I always knew since I was a little kid that if did my homework and studied for my tests that I could get an A in my classes. I assumed the same was true for the arts. I had heard of the 10,000 hour rule when I was in college, but never kept track of the hours I spent working towards my creative goals. I work hard because it feels good to create something. I work hard because it feels amazing to make something that matters. I work hard because it’s the only way I know how and the only way that has brought me near my goals. A music teacher in high school told me that whoever practiced the most would get the spot in the All State band auditions so that gave me hope. Even if I wasn’t the most talented musician, maybe I could practice harder than whoever was and still get that spot.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I am an artist that paints people! I love portraits, people in interior spaces, costumed models in Biblical setting religious paintings, and painting the interior spaces themselves. I love to try to capture the light of my subjects and make them feel alive. It is super gratifying to see an image slowly materialize in front of my eyes, stroke by stroke on the canvas. I am honored to be working on a new painting for the interior remodel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Salt Lake City temple currently. I am also having a solo show of paintings in Boston in November 2023 of over a dozen new works. It is thrilling to design a composition that both captures my subject and lets the paint feel spontaneous and detailed at the same time. A combination of a captivating color palette and a well designed subject that makes you feel an emotion inspires me to create. My themes often revolve around home spaces, my experiences of being a mom and professional artist, and color.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Number one was that I needed to desperately love this passion. I loved paintings since my first art class in elementary school and thrilled at pieces done by Mary Cassatt and Van Eyck that portrayed other children. This love became a hunger that I would want to do regardless of whether I could make it professionally or not, and that drive pushed me to keep going even when I had doubts in myself. Number two is never give up. If you give up, there is a zero percent chance you will succeed. At least if you are trying you have a chance. Third, make sure you are following what you love, whether it’s that you love what you are doing or you love what others are doing and you try to figure out what made them successful or why it is that what they are doing is spectacular to you. The more that you understand what makes something great, the more you will begin to understand how to achieve that.
What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?
Being overwhelmed is part of the creative process. It is easy to feel like something is impossible or that you can’t do it. I have taken on projects that I literally had no idea of how I would accomplish them. I was terrified, but felt that if I could break it down into smaller, more manageable pieces the task felt easier. The important thing is to trust in yourself. Often times I would discover that as I sat down to work everyday, I would get inspiration or ideas of the next step that I hadn’t thought of before. But it was only because I was actively trying. Just being in the mindset meant that I could mull things over in my brain and eventually the idea that made the most sense would surface. I would also like to caution that you shouldn’t focus on the deadlines. Simply work as hard as you can and do as much as you are able, and the work will get finished when it does.
Contact Info:
- Website: Marysauerart.com
- Instagram: Marysauerart
- Facebook: Mary Sauer
Image Credits
Credit Mary Sauer
