Tidal Edges by Sara Jane Reynolds.
In 1984, Sara Jane Reynolds, her husband, and their five young children moved from San Marino, near traffic-jammed Los Angeles, to “a more rural life” on John’s Island along the coast of South Carolina. Reynolds had painted avidly during her school years, including advanced studies at the Pacific Asia Museum, Art Center College of Design, and Otis/Parsons School of Art. But a busy life led Reynolds to turn her aesthetic talents to more practical outlets like landscape and home design. Then in the late 1990s, with her children grown, a friend’s invitation to join a plein-air workshop reawakened her earlier passion. “I just went big back into painting,” she says with a laugh.
Sara Jane Reynolds on the beach near her South Carolina home.
Reynolds finds endless inspiration just a short stroll or drive from home in a region known for “the most pristine estuary on the East Coast,” she says. Here, dunes, rivers, marshes, ocean, and sky meet in a seemingly ever-changing display. Her art, in turn, provides a profound connection to those natural wonders. “If you love the outdoors, just strap your stuff on your back and wait for dawn,” she says, expressing how powerfully her passion drives her to paint the landscape.
Equinox by Sara Jane Reynolds.
One cold early morning recently, she headed to the shore of Kiawah Island, about a mile from home, “and I went on the other side of the dunes to paint the shadows that were in front of me. The rippling sand was peachy or gold or light blue, and the deep-purple shadows stretched into the middle of the canvas,” she says. She entitled the resulting “more abstract and loosely impressionistic” scene BEACH GRASSES AND SHADOWS.
Though Reynolds creates many studio paintings as well, she considers her on-site studies “a jumping-off place” for larger works. “Plein air is the best approach,” she says. “It’s spontaneous, and you get to know what colors things really are and to capture the feel of nature.” To learn more, visit www.sarajanereynolds.com.
High Dunes by Sara Jane Reynolds.
Beach Grasses and Shadows by Sara Jane Reynolds.