View Art Work By Sandra Harris
Biography
Sandra Faulstich Harris
Sandra Faulstich Harris has been recording the beauty of those around her nearly all her life. Born and raised in a small farming community in Iowa, her rural roots are apparent in the sense of honesty, compassion and intimacy that illuminates her portraiture. Her desire to paint was kindled early, and after an artist aunt introduced her to a book of Caravaggio’s work and oil paints at age 11, Sandra was painting commissioned portraits by the tender age of 14. Sandra’s dramatic use of light has become a trademark of her work, sensitively drawing the viewer into the heart and soul of the subject.
She made the Colorado mountains her home in 1975 with her husband Shane, where they lived many years raising their two sons. Sandra’s maternal lineage of Cherokee ancestry sparked an early interest in Native American subjects, and multiple visits to the Crow Indian Reservation in Montana provided additional research for her sensitive portrayals of the Crow women and children. In 2002, Sandra and her family followed their hearts to Montana, where they now live among their friends and family in Crow country.
Although she received no formal art training, Sandra had the opportunity to study with several renowned artists at the Cowboy Artists Museum in Kerrville, Texas; Fechin Institute, Taos, New Mexico; and Scottsdale Artists School, Scottsdale, Arizona; among others. Instructors included Howard Terpning, Bettina Steinke, Daniel Gerhartz, Rose Frantzen, David Leffel, Sherrie McGraw, Gregg Kruetz, Phil Starke, Bob Wygant and Howard Rogers.
Sandra’s work has been represented by major galleries in Scottsdale, Taos and Jackson Hole, WY since 1979. She participated in Settler’s West Gallery’s American Miniatures Show 1986-2015. She has painted several commissioned portraits for private and corporate clients, including the National Park Service, Washington D.C. and Denver; and the United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs. Sandra was also commissioned by the Western Heritage Museum in Billings, Montana to illustrate educational DVD’s for the Tribal Histories Project in 2005, 2006 and 2007. She completed three projects: Crow Tribal History, Northern Cheyenne Tribal History and Chippewa/Cree Tribal History.
Sandra believes her desire to paint is God-given, and strives to capture in every painting the essence of His love and compassion for people. It is this commitment of portraying the beauty of the human spirit on canvas that inspires her to make painting her life’s work.