rowandahl

Sarah Rowan Dahl is an America-born contemporary artist currently residing in Sydney, Australia.  Her work reflects the vibrant colours surrounding her life as a new mum living by the beach.  Sarah mainly focuses on acrylic paintings, as they dry quickly during her regular live events at various venues.  

Graduating from Converse College in 2003 with BFA in Studio Art, Sarah soon began her art business, knowing she didn't want to grow old having never delved into her main passion and giftings.  In 2005, Sarah moved to Australia as a newlywed to attend Hillsong Internatinal Leadership College, where she earned a diploma in ministry in 2007.

Sarah's goals as an artist include raising awareness of the Colour Sisterhood www.coloursisterhood.com, and supporting the causes that support children's education in third world nations.  The Colour Sisterhood supports Watoto - www.watoto.com, a ministry in Uganda that places orphans in supportive villages of mums with food, schooling, and medical care.  The Sisterhood has also recently teamed up with The A21 Campaign to create www.beherfreedom.org in helping raise awareness, rehabilitate rescued victims, and change legislation on human trafficking!

January 2009 Metromix Magazine - Greenville, SC USA

By Matthew Wake

During her three-year stay in Sydney, Australia, Sarah Rowan Dahl’s artwork changed. The dark, angst-ridden themes of her collegiate years gave way to vibrant colors, semi-surreal beach scenes and Aboriginal dot matrixes.

“I don’t take myself as serious now,” says Dahl, now 27. “In Sydney people are very down-to-earth and relaxed about life.”

Dahl, now 27, spent her coming-of-age years in the Upstate and has returned for a solo exhibit, “Roots & Wings,” running through Jan. 18 at The Channel. The show contains more than 20 pieces, including photographs and paintings.

In addition to expatriate undercurrents, the “Roots & Wings” works have also been shaped by motherhood. Dahl now has a 17-month old daughter. Being a mom has led Dahl to abandon oil paints for acrylic, which are “safer with a child around,” she says, and taking up the camera.

“I love the instant gratification of photography,” Dahl says. “When you’re a mom, sometimes you don’t get to paint when you want to paint.”

“Roots & Wings”—the exhibit name was cribbed from words of encouragement Dahl received in a letter from her own mother— features both color and black-and-white photos.

To maximize her canvas time, Dahl now sets up her materials in the morning in advance of her daughter’s mid-day naps. When the child nods off, the paint starts flowing.

“I kind of try to think of a child-like perspective, so my work is more influenced by Dr. Seuss instead of Monet sometimes,” Dahl says. “My work used to be a lot more intense and have a lot more meaning, and now my work is brighter and light-hearted.”

Dahl’s “Route 301” is a Chagal-esque fragmentation of Sydney’s Opera House and its signature sail motif.

“The name comes from the first bus route I ever took to go see the Opera House,” Dahl says. “It’s such amazing architecture I have to pinch myself—‘I really do live here.’ ”

In “Circle of Life,” Dahl uses innocence and primary colors to depict connections that bind beasts of air, land and sea.

Receiving her bachelors of fine arts from Converse College in 2003, Dahl says the style of past art instructors, Teresa Prater in particular, also helped shape her own flair.

And yes, Dahl has introduced her daughter to art. Together they make hand and footprint smudges using baby-safe black paint.
In January, Dahl will fly back to Australia. Her husband, Jared Dahl, teaches college-level English at a private school in downtown Sydney, while Sarah augments family coffers selling art and taking photos of sun-kissed couples at nearby Maroubra Beach.

“The whole (‘Roots & Wings’) show kind of captures an American’s experience in another country, so people here can have a taste,” Dahl says.