A PROFILE OF STREET ARTIST SARAH SCULLEY PART THREE
In “THE ARTISTS” series, A SLEEPING SAMURAI® is putting a spotlight on creatives whose work we feel has synergy with our brand message, “DO YOUR WORK WITH LOVE, THE OUTCOME WILL BE LOVEABLE™ .”A SLEEPING SAMURAI® is delighted to present part three of a profile of American-born street artist, Sarah Sculley.
Sculley is visionary street artist whose creative universe expands across studio street art, epic murals, and a podcast designed to help upcoming creatives – establishing herself as a brand in her own right over the past 17 years. She debuted her first show in Shanghai in 2007, winning international recognition and now runs a weekly podcast inspiring creatives to build their own successful businesses. Creating her groundbreaking art with love, her ethos aligns with A SLEEPING SAMURAI®, a luxury fashion house, reinforcing its values of innovation, care for the love of our craft, sustainability, and entrepreneurship.
In Part Three of our profile on street artist Sarah Sculley, Sarah talks about her art form and we find out a little more about Sarah the artist and the person.
A GENUINE STREET ARTIST
Even though it became increasingly obvious to us at A SLEEPING SAMURAI® as we perused Sarah’s artwork, we had to ask Sarah the question, “Sarah, what are your favourite colours?” Here’s her response: “It is pink! Watermelon neon pink. I don't always paint with those colours though. I use a lot of blues in my work. Billabong by Resene - I think I've gone through about 100L of that colour in the last 12 months! It's a deep, dark blue.”
When interviewing Sarah, she told us that her art reflects her mood. In the past, she would paint more when she was struggling personally, when she was heartbroken, furious, or grieving. She said that her artwork at that time would graphically reflect her mood. Nowadays, Sarah says her moods are normally within a more comfortable range, resulting in more composed and layered artwork. She says the backgrounds of her work are instinctive and expressive, with imagery not so over the top, but more controlled and planned. She said, “As a mural artist, you need to move fast and figure out how to paint the intricate parts of your style quickly. No one wants to be out on a wall painting for weeks. You can't be a perfectionist and a mural artist. I've seen creatives try, and it does not make for a sustainable business model.”
Sarah is most comfortable when painting a small piece in her studio, although she says she also likes to work on epic, large-scale murals, which she describes as mentally, physically and emotionally draining. A moment of sheer and unadulterated pleasure comes at the point when she stands back from a massive art creation and enjoys the moment of pride. Sarah enjoys a moment of pride as she stands back from a massive creation, experiencing a sense of sheer and unadulterated pleasure.
MULTITALENTED
We were keen to find out if Sarah the artist is the same as Sarah the person? Sarah responded that she is the same person, admitting she is uncomfortably transparent and unable to ever pretend she is someone she is not. Although we learned there are many facets to who Sarah is. “The street artist, the roller derby player, the mom, the partner, the friend, the basketball player, the fitness fanatic, the gardener, the renovator, the coach, the entrepreneur.” Sarah told us that it’s important to have different parts, saying, “If you lose one, you don’t lose yourself.” For example, Sarah has played basketball since the age of twelve but she is currently unable to play through injury. If basketball formed a bigger part of who she was, Sarah says she’d be lost at this very moment in time, due to not being able to explore her identity.
Look out for Part Four of The Sarah Sculley Profile dropping 18 February 2025.
More information on Sarah’s art and her podcast can be found on her website at https://www.sculleydesign.com