Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kay Sarver. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Kay, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

I am a visual artist and have always been driven to create something with my hands. Making art, especially painting, is part of who I am, but more than this, it is a communication I wish to share. It is the telling of a story, sometimes my own. It is also a personal, healing journey, where growth tends to occur and often leads to a surprising and illuminating direction in the process. This is a very human thing as we all create our lives in different ways, and being an artist has been most valuable to my own evolution.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Bio

As a young child I was always drawing, usually creating some sort of grand scene with animals and trees. My parents fed this passion by taking me to classes at the Museum of Fine Arts in Cincinnati, the city where I grew up. Through school I won numerous awards, eventually receiving a Gold Key while in High School. I later attended the University of Cincinnati, majoring in Fine Arts, where I soon embraced painting with oils.

After a few years in college, and three year stay in Florida, I migrated to Houston, Texas, where I continue to live and work as a visual artist.

My paintings have been influenced by numerous subjects over the years, but usually reflect human nature in some way. I have depicted migrant workers in a series titled The Unseen, and depicted environmental issues in the series, Cross Pollination, as well as a series of portraits of artists while in their studio, titled Studio Junkies, which was exhibited in 2015 in Lawndale Art Center, Houston, Texas.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

The Light Inside

It could be argued that portrait painting is overdone and to some extent I would agree. But why do we feel this need to express our humanity in this way? We are obsessed with facial expressions, body language, and the hint of mystery behind someone’s eyes. In truth, there is a story in that fleeting moment. It cannot match a poetic, wordy novel to convey the complex reality of an individual, but there is something in that brief visual gesture, that captured glance, or interaction that communicates without language, a profound, universal understanding.

The acclaimed fiction writer, Joyce Carol Oates, once said “I put my faith in people”. That simple statement vibrated with my energy and the joy I experience while painting others. It becomes an act of love, which probably says more about my needs, my makeup than theirs, but in a time when it is often hard to see the light around us and within us, I am compelled to fulfill this need to help validate my faith in who we really are.

Painting with oils on wooden, round panels, which emulate a portal; a private glimpse of someone through an imaginary wall, the shape has an organic fluidity that excludes the hard lines of a rectangle or square to confine the subject to a box. It also is reminiscent of portraits done long ago on ovals or rounds, even small enough to be included inside a locket on a necklace.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

Healing and self growth and the realization that I have something to share that may help others.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.kaysarverart.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kaysarverart/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kay.sarver/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@houstonarttribe4814/videos
• Other: https://www.houstonarttribe.com/

Image Credits
Paintings by Kay Sarver