The magic of American painter Sandra Bierman lies in her soulful, larger-than-life figurative oil paintings that evoke an immediate sense of tranquility, strength, and emotional warmth.
Working entirely from her imagination without models or photographs, she channels what critics and collectors often describe as "pure magic" directly onto the canvas.
Her signature subjects are stylized, exaggerated women with bare, earthy feet and disproportionately large, caring hands.
These figures are deeply nurturing, often seen cradling babies, tending to plants, or holding companion cats.
Bierman approaches her canvases like an abstract painter, focusing on space, shapes, and fluid lines.
She lets her unconscious guide the brush, meaning she rarely knows what the final piece will look like when she starts.
Her unique style cross-pollinates a variety of classical movements, drawing heavy inspiration from 16th-century Italian masters, Mexican masters (such as Diego Rivera), and the traditional flat art styles of China and Japan.
Sandra Bierman, grandmother of five, was born in Brooklyn, New York, but from age 4 grew up in Oklahoma, Texas and Maryland.
Her father was a Swedish immigrant and her mother a Texas farm girl.
She was nurtured as a child by her part-Cherokee grandmother.
Art scholarships began at age 11.
Her oils are widely collected and are published and distributed worldwide.
Artist's Statement
"It is important in my work that I paint intuitively, with no models or photographs to influence the spontaneity of my inner perceptions as they emerge.
Although I approach the canvas much like an abstract painter, working with divisions of space, shapes and lines, I enjoy the added challenge of using the human figure.
I consciously work with technique and composition, but my unconscious adds an element of inner yearning for tranquility, strength and well being-- depending on my mood.
The figures, often depict grounded women with bare earthy feet and large caring hands.
The women may be cradling a child, getting solace from a cat or washing their hair in the rain reflections from my own life.
The large old women may be my grandmother or me.
I am also the cat or baby. In a way, the whole painting is a self-portrait from the inside, out.
Men are also coming into my compositions.
For the sake of important elements in a work, I often exaggerate or distort shapes and lines to enhance the overall flow and composition.
I apply the paint, but it is a struggle to not get in the way of the process as it unfolds.
It works best if the vision guides me, not I guide it.
I notice that my visits to Kauai are influencing my palette" - Sandra Bierman.
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Sandra Bierman è nata a Brooklyn, New York, ma da 4 anni è cresciuta in Oklahoma, Texas e Maryland.
Suo padre era un immigrato svedese e sua madre lavorava in una fattoria del Texas.
Sandra è sposata con un professore di fisica in pensione Arthur Bierman e hanno vissuto in Boulder, Colorado dal 1988.
I suoi oli sono ampiamente raccolti e vengono pubblicati e distribuiti in tutto il mondo.
Influenze: Maestri italiani del 16° secolo, maestri messicani, arte classica cinese e giapponese.
"Dipingo intuitivamente, senza modelli o fotografie per non influenzare la spontaneità delle mie percezioni interiori che emergono.
Mi piace la sfida di usare la figura umana che lavoro coscientemente con la tecnica e la composizione, ma il mio inconscio aggiunge un elemento di tensione ideale per la tranquillità, la forza e benessere a seconda del mio umore.
I miei dipinti spesso ritraggono donne a terra con i piedi nudi e grandi mani ...
Le donne possono stare cullando un bambino, ricevendo conforto da un gatto o lavarsi i capelli ...
In un certo senso, l'intero dipinto è un autoritratto dal di dentro e dal fuori" - Sandra Bierman
