Sunday, April 8, 2012
Saturday, March 31, 2012
The Arts and Healing
Arts and Healing have long been closely intertwined. In the years before Hippocrates, the healing temples of ancient Greece surrounded patients with paintings, sculpture, gardens, fountains, music, poetry and storytelling. An environment rich with art was seen as therapeutic, providing a means to alleviate physical discomfort and emotional distress.
Florence Nightingale, in her book Notes on Nursing, described the patient's need for beauty, even to look out a window or gaze at a vase of flowers: "People say the effect is only on the mind. It is no such thing. The effect is on the body, too."
If you, or someone you love, is sick physically or emotionally, consider beautifying the space around you or them with flowers, a water feature, art or peaceful music.... it really does make a difference.
Florence Nightingale, in her book Notes on Nursing, described the patient's need for beauty, even to look out a window or gaze at a vase of flowers: "People say the effect is only on the mind. It is no such thing. The effect is on the body, too."
If you, or someone you love, is sick physically or emotionally, consider beautifying the space around you or them with flowers, a water feature, art or peaceful music.... it really does make a difference.
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| Returning Insight (30 x 48) Giclee Prints Available |
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Hummingbirds, Sarah Goodnough Paintings

Being Present (40 x 40) - Original Sold, Giclee Prints Available
Flicker In Time (30 x 30) - Original Sold, Giclee Prints Available
Beyond Limitations (30 x 30) - Original Sold, Giclee Prints Available

Joyful Abundance (40 x 40) - Original Sold, Giclee Prints Available
These paintings combine flora and fauna, integrated in a magical way that I hope evokes the feeling of divine energy all around us. Hummingbirds are a connection to spirit for me. When I see them it always seems to be at a time when God is saying "everything is alright".
Friday, March 23, 2012
Love Story, Sarah Goodnough Painting

Love Story - 36 x 48 Acrylic Painting on Canvas - Original Sold - Giclee Prints Available
Love Story was a romantic piece that came about because of my passion for roses. I have had the idea to paint roses for awhile and decided to add the birds in a tree to this contemporary impressionist painting. I can just imagine looking up at the moon while sitting with my loved one in this old English garden.
Monday, November 28, 2011
Sarah Goodnough Painting of Queen Anne's Lace

I remember being a little girl and looking up at the tall Queen Anne's lace in my neighbor, Mrs. Gaston's english garden. It made an impression on me, I'm not quite sure why. Perhaps a combination of it's tall delicate simplicity and it's name, "Queen Anne's Lace". After all, who was this Queen Anne and did she really use this flower for lace?
With a star burst of white flowers on lime green stems, there is something enchanting about this wild flower that pops up along roadsides, meadows, gardens, parking lots and anywhere else it can find a place to grow. It is a prolific flower, growing wild and free, dotting July and August landscapes with hints of summer memories come and gone. I am sure I could google the story of how this flower got it's name, however, I believe it is the nostalgia brought back by seeing it year after year, showing up where least expected and taking one back to sweet times that makes this wild flower so fit for a queen.
I titled this acrylic painting "Delicate Nostalgia". It is 36 x 36. The original has sold, but I do have limited edition giclee canvas prints available in 40 x 40, 36 x 36 , 30 x 30 and 24 x 24. Refer to my website, sarahgoodnough.com for pricing and more available prints.
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Birds in Flight Paintings
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| On the Rise (40 x 30) Mixed Media, Original Sold |
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| Lunar Migration (24 x 24) Mixed Media on Canvas, Original Sold |
| Winged Ascension (36 x 48) Acrylic on Canvas, Original Sold, Prints Available |
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| Flight (36 x 48) Acrylic on Canvas, Original Sold, Prints Available |
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| Embarking Daybreak (36 x 48) Acrylic on Canvas, Original Sold, Prints Available |
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| Crimson Flurry (24 x 24) Mixed Media on Canvas, Original Sold |
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| Coastal Migration (24 x 24) Mixed Media on Canvas, Original Sold |
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| 5 O'clock Meadow (30 x 30) Acrylic on Canvas, Original Sold, Prints Available |
| Taking Flight (40 x 30) Mixed Media on Canvas, Original Sold |
I used silver and gold leafing in some of these as a design element. Many people say they see a rock wall, and like the juxtaposition of manmade structure and nature. I like to let people use their own imagination to make sense of the abstraction. By putting a recognizable concrete subject like birds in the picture, the brain is forced to bring understanding to the background.
I do have giclee prints of some of these paintings available in print sizes, 18 x 27, 24 x 32, 30 x 40 and 36 x 48. The silver and gold leaf do not print well, so there are not any giclee prints available paintings with this element.
Tree Sketches for a Commissioned Painting

Thumbnail sketches for a commission that I am working on. The client wants to have four large paintings of a tree that changes with the seasons to hang over their fire place. It will be a vertical 40 x 60. I will work a few of these into some colored renderings that give the client some ideas and choices for their paintings. It is good to clarify and narrow down what they envision for their home.
I typically do not work from sketches, but it is nice to come up with several concrete ideas. Perhaps a few of these will show up in some other paintings of mine. It is exciting for me to think of all the color possibilities with the same scene, and the same shaped tree, creating so many different paintings around one concept.
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