Lives in: Germantown, MD
Website: paintingsbysandra.com
Instagram: @SandraFretwell

Media and subjects:  I mostly use acrylics. I love finding obscure items to add to create mixed media. My subjects range from single subject/object, to landscapes and “full scenes” to abstracts. Unless a specific idea hits me, I usually allow the canvas to tell me what is on it. Because every canvas is different, it allows for an endless range of subject matter.

Projects you’re currently working on: Right now I am working on a series  of paintings that are memories of a dream. I am continually surprised at how the Universe supports me. I go to my canvas, I add color where it shows up in the canvas, and when it is finished, it’s like a memory I had long forgotten or a dream I never consciously remember having. Familiar and yet not known. I have no idea where this is going to go but I am really enjoying the ride!

Why you joined MAA:  I joined MAA as a means to show my work to the community and to meet other artists in the area.

Something fun about you: I love almost all music but my secret music love affair is with the genres of music I grew up with at my grandparents’ house.  My current obsessions include Frank Sinatra, Etta James, Edith Piaf, Nina Simone, and Albert Collins.

Artist Biography

Art has always been an integral part of life for Sandra Fretwell.  Learning at an early age to express emotion through creation by watching her grandmother, mother and aunts all create beautiful things with their hands. Sewing; leather tooling, ceramics, yarn art and many other crafting expressions were a part of her daily life.  As Sandra grew up, she had ‘bursts’ of creative action, moments where art and creation became a compulsion. Once she realized she needed a serious outlet for this creative energy, she began taking art lessons with a spiritual artist named Running Bear in Marietta, GA. and then studied under renowned portrait artist, Antonia Krauss in Kennesaw, GA.

After moving to Maryland in 2015, Sandra had vivid and expressive dreams about her own artwork and had new ideas about where to go with it.  For the first time in her life, Sandra realized she was an artist.  Once this realization took hold, Sandra created a full time studio in her home.  She paints every chance she gets.  Since then Sandra has shown her work in several different venues including, in the Maryland Hall of Delegates in the state building in Annapolis, BlackRock Center for the Arts, and the Kentlands Mansion just to name a few. She has been accepted into many juried shows and in March 2019, won her first award at the Montgomery Village Arts, Craft and Photography show. Second place in the Professional Artist Mixed Media category.

Sandra hosts painting meditations once a month in her home. She also hosts Wise Woman Circles every full moon as part of a creative empowerment movement that encompasses both art and action.