Sandra Wakeen

Sandra Wakeen is an Honors graduate from Paier School of Art and the recipient of the school’s prestigious Ken Davies Award. She had the good fortune to study with Dean Kellhe Sr., Robert Zapplortti, Rudy Zallinger and many others. Her professional career began as a children's book illustrator and evolved to painting large scale figurative paintings influenced by the Art Nouveau movement. She created a series of decorative porcelain plates depicting “The Love Story of Siam” for the Bradford Exchange and Royal Porcelain - Kingdom of Thailand. The success of her unique Art Nouveau paintings led to commissions in both the United States and Europe, gracing chocolate boxes in France, puzzles in Spain, and large scale paintings and murals. In time, Sandra began her portrait career, and soon became an accomplished portrait artist of women, children, and notable figures. Commissions came from across the United States and as far away as Japan.

In 2005, Sandra left the commercial art world for fine art. She began her studies with a month long residency in Argenton, France at Studio Escalier. Studying with Tony Ryder and Ted Seth Jacobs brought her back to the excitement of painting from life and joy of travel. Six more trips to Europe, visiting museums, studying the masters, and painting the countryside revealed that there was “more” for her in her art. Hosting David Leffel and Sherrie McGraw at her home for several days and later spending a week at their home in New Mexico had a profound effect on her philosophy of painting. These encounters never involved brushstrokes on the canvas, but rather the effects of brushstrokes on the mind. It would lead her to a whole new way of “seeing”. Sandra is planning to continue her travels abroad and studying with David and Sherrie. She believes that when one opens up to the world, they discover more about themselves and the world around them and therefore can find deeper meaning in their art.

Sandra’s work is in the permanent collection of the Florence Griswold Museum, the New Britain Museum of American Art, and the FFAST Museum in Fiesole Italy. She is the President and founding member of The Wethersfield Academy for the Arts. She has served on the Board of Directors for The Lyme Art Association and The Connecticut Society of Portrait Artists. Sandra is a charter member of The Connecticut River Valley Artists. Her more recent accomplishments include: exhibiting artist in the Academic Artists 60th Anniversary Show at The Springfield Museum of Art, American Women Artists National Show and the Laumeister Fine Art Competition at The Bennington Center for the Arts. At the beginning of 2010, she had an award winning drawing in the Portrait Society of America’s National Show. In previous years, her work has been chosen for the Art of New England National Show, the Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts National Exhibition, the Hudson Valley Art Association, the Allied Artists of America National Show and The Catherine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club's 112th Annual Exhibition in NYC.