Portfolio

Sandy Moss' Biography

“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” –A Nais Nin

How does one know who they are when journeying through life? Sandy believes only a few find out the innermost part of

themselves early on. The rest stumble around and sometimes find their true identity.

As a child growing up in Eastern rural Ohio, on summer days Sandy walked into the surrounding woods behind her home, the

various shapes, colors, and sounds of the wooded rooms she played in left their mark. Stone colors deepened in the shadows

of the box canyon walls that previously housed the North American Indians.

As a young girl she doodled, drew, and painted. In her high school senior year an opportunity came to go on a class trip to

Cincinnati, Ohio, for a weekend. During free time she opted to go see the Taft Art Museum. Country girl in the big city hopped

aboard a bus for the first time and walked the halls of the old Taft home, gazing into the faces of master works. She felt in awe,

emotionally full. In college she entered a small campus art show and received the first ribbon for artwork.

So, you would have thought the art trail would begin. But survival, making a living, meeting a guy, marrying, and having a child,

all the routine rites of passage, happened first. Creativity did not leave, but took other forms within a more domestic scene.

She read about an adult education art class at the local high school and signed up. The images of the early drawings tucked

away, along with the Taft Museum post cards, began to weave a story about art in her life. Sandy wanted to make art.

Tentatively reaching out, the first class chosen, entry into the art world began. A late bloomer, she wanted to push the

process, naively thinking, “How hard could it be?” Many years later, a thousand moments of despair, many art classes and

workshops, the zigzag trail evolved to find the understanding and the doing of art. Sandy continues the journey, experiencing

the highest highs and the lowest lows, but making art. The art process never ends, but rejuvenates, heals heart, mind, and

body. When signing a painting a part of her remains on the canvas or paper. Sandy hopes by instructing art that she can

encourage other late bloomers as well as young students to enjoy the art process.

Sandy lives in Mc Kinney, Texas, with her husband, Norm, and dogs, Max and Coco.

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Education in oil painting began in 1976. In 1995 Sandy resumed oil painting classes. Mentored under Dr. Marilyn Todd-Daniels

of Woodsong Institute of Art, Whitewright, TX. Studied Art History, Drawing, Composition and Design, Color Theory, and Plein

Aire painting. Studied at CCCC in Drawing I/II under Marilyn Todd-Daniels, Watercolor under Kathy Cotter-Smith. Year long

Life Drawing class under the influence of the book Nicolaides’ The Natural Way to Draw, Watercolor under Babs Light. Colored

Pencil workshops with Pat Averil, Maggie Toole, Janie Gildow, Kristy Kutch, Linda Lucas-Hardy, Elizabeth Holster, Cecile

Baird, Gemma Gylling. Master class with William Patterson in 2006/2007.

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Selected Publications:

Illustrations in Thirty Nice Stripes by Marilyn Todd-Daniels

Chase Manhattan Mortgage painting for 35,000 post card mailing

Dallas Morning News 2-18 and 5-13-2006

Dallas Morning News, November 2007

Irving Art Connection, 2003, 2004

Selected Collections:

Hang in Texas, California, Tennessee, Arizona, Oklahoma, and Massachusetts.

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Selected Exhibitions:

Collin County Art Exhibitions

Texas and Neighbors Exhibitions

Plano National Exhibitions

Irving Art Connection

Richardson Art Exhibition

Sherman Art League Exhibitions

American Juried Art Salon

Colored Pencil Society of America, July 2007

Awards and Honors:

Frank Klepper Award, Best in Media Professional Category-Collin County Exhibit

Judges and Merit Awards, Sal Exhibitions

First, Second and Third Place honors in Collin County Art Exhibitions, Artist Show

Place Exhibition, Finer Points Colored Pencil Exhibition