I was born in 1970 in Ontario, Canada, raised in Western Canada and now live/work in Springfield, Illinois. I immigrated to the United States from Canada in 2004 to marry my husband, Thomas.  We have two beautiful dogs and a cranky cat.  I am a full-time, self-taught artist.

About my art...

I look to the beauty of the world around me for inspiration. Sometimes I find it in the way the light catches a flower on my windowsill or when I happen to come across an intriguing creature in my travels. Whatever it is that I decide to capture in my art, it always speaks to me on one level or another.

I choose to work with scratchboard because of its multi-faceted ability to create images. I can capture fine details with a delicate touch or I can let loose with aggressive cuts and bring out it’s almost three dimensional quality.

When I create an art piece in scratchboard I first render it completely in black and white.   It’s at this point that I make the sometimes very difficult decision of whether or not to add color. Choosing to add color means a lot more work for me as it’s not applied in one layer but several layers with many scratches between them.

My art is a success to me if it slows a viewer down and they get lost in the moment.   Although not every piece tells a story, when there is meaning behind a particular work that I’ve created, I enjoy relating it because I believe that it adds so much more to the art..

~ Sandra Willard  April 15, 2011