Sierra Dawn Art Studio

🎨 “The Ravine”, is a tribute to my two main inspirations: color and nature.

This body of work called “Appalachia” is an exploration of the childlike perception of my memory juxtaposed with my adult understanding, a powerful tension that I believe we are all carrying in some capacity.

Acrylic on Raw Canvas
21 x 26 x 0.75 in

Available for purchase at the link in bio!

🥴 Sketching this would’ve made me panic once upon a time.

And I’m not saying I slayed here but I was able to get around the pressure of perfection. 👈

🤣The building on front has 4 windows in reality, not 3. There are buildings I completely emitted. The tower has no sense of perspective or depth whatsoever.

But does it still capture the essence? Yes. ✅

👌🏼Could I sit there with a ruler and get perfect angles and perspective? Yup, I could.

Do I enjoy drawing that way? Mmm no, not really.✍️

✨Whatever you do, make it yours. Ignore those telling you how you should be doing things in order for it to be “right” or “good”, even when it’s coming from you! 🙌

🌺This piece is part of my Arizona collection which I created while living in Phoenix for a summer.

I was so inspired by the new-to-me color palette of the landscape there and the strange and beautiful plantlife.

I experimented with different materials to create my own technique which combines pastel brushed with alcohol, bold pastel pencil outlines, and ink.

I really like the interesting textures created by combining the wet and dry media.

The subject of this particular painting is of a plant that attracted me with its unusual colors and long, red stamens. It seemed otherworldly and caught my eye.

Mixed Media: Pastel, Pastel Pencil & Ink on Paper
8” x 10”

Collect this original artwork by visiting the website at SierraDawnArt.com or the link in bio!

Back to my pastel days 🥰

“Sedona”
Pastel on Paper
8” x 10”

See my entire “Arizona” collection on the website at www.SierraDawnArt.com or link in bio!

🖼️ It’s more than a landscape. It’s about our colorful, childlike perspective of the places that were special to us.

But it’s also about our adult perspective, inevitably carrying realities that we were unaware of as children- truths that sometimes taint these sweet memories, forcing us to carry the duality of life.

This painting, “Woodland Creek”, speaks to how memory itself works—the way certain details remain crystalline while others blur and fade. It is left with raw, unraveling edges, acknowledging that these memories and emotions will continue to deteriorate and transform over time.

Or perhaps the unraveling threads are a result of information learned as an adult, changing the innocent perspective you had as a child.

It floats off the wall, it can’t be naked down or contained under glass. It is a fleeting memory, with a life of its own that we can’t control and can’t always access whe we want to.

Can you relate to this painting? Tell me in the comments!

Available online at the link in bio.