Sandra L Van Dam Fine Art

Sandra L Van Dam
Fine Art

https://www.slvandam.com/home

Art Is About Courage and Inhibition
Pouring Out Your Soul For All to See

Desert Solitaire
oil 16x20"
(SOLD) prints available through my website

WESTERN LANDSCAPES

Summer Storm
- oil 12x16"
$250

Color: bright, bold and pure.
Simple shapes and the beauty of nature.
My inspiration comes from the natural world and my own imagination.
I continue to explore, experiment, and enjoy the journey.

SL Van Dam
painter/drummer

Moonrise
pastel 18x26"
$300

RANCHOS DE TAOS

Morning at Ranchos de Taos
oil 18x24"
$650

Waiting for the Rain
oil 26x22"
$700

I was born a creative soul in Oceanside, NY. My journey began with dance and piano lessons at age 5 in the small town of Genoa in the Finger Lakes region. We moved to Oneida, NY and, at 9, I chose drumming. It was fun! I was fond of doodling in the margins of my English assignments, and was able to fit an art class into my Jr. High school schedule, but music was my main interest.

During college, studying percussion at Shenandoah Conservatory in Winchester, VA, I took another art class and had my first visit to an art museum in D.C. What an experience ! I saw my first Kandinsky and used him as my inspiration for the final class project. I still have that painting.
After graduating, life took me from the east coast to the mid-west, the west coast, and finally to the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. I settled into music work playing for a musical theater group and with the Colorado Springs Symphony and teaching private lessons. I met a handsome woodwind player, and we married and produced 2 sons. Hubby got steady work in the electronics field.

My husband's job took us from Colorado Springs to the Denver metro area. I continued performing with several local orchestras and picking up other freelance work ( including a decade of rock bands and 2 summers as The King's drummer at the Renaissance Festival in Larkspur, CO.) and a new group of students. My interest in art began to emerge again, so I took classes at the Arvada Center for the Arts, where I met Chuck Ceraso, an impressionist artist. I studied weekly at his studio for 2 years, with a week- long trip to Ghost Ranch in NM, where Georgia O'Keeffe lived. It's a magical place.

Continuing classes at Front Range Community College, I began to find my artistic voice, with help from Lydia Brokaw, Polly Chang and Homare Ikeda. I joined several art guilds and learned from their members and demos given by artists from the Denver Art Students League. I continue to learn and grow on my own.

I have been teaching art classes for 18 years at a community center in Arvada, CO.