Student artist Sarah Cornils is eager to finish her degree this year and dive headfirst into the creating world.
Cornils currently works for a nonprofit, and creates all of their digital art. She started Painted Peaks, where she shares her vibrant and lively mixed media art. She primarily works in acrylic and watercolor.
“Mainly my style is pretty abstract, I work a lot from landscapes, but I don’t like working… I don’t like painting realistic at all,” Cornils said. “I get caught up in what it’s supposed to look like, versus what I want to do.”
“I do a lot of stylized linework and landscapes, and in my watercolor classes I have been moving toward nostalgic pieces — just so I can work on my technique from things I have seen a lot, but still sticking with pretty 2D designs. That way I’m growing the technique and the layering without focusing too much on the fact that it’s not what I’m looking at, necessarily.”
Cornils was homeschooled growing up, and said that art has always been a part of her life. When she first went to college at the University of Alaska Anchorage, she began as an English major, but after several switches landed on a degree in drawing. She took a class from Garry Mealor and everything shifted.
“I loved his class, and I loved being able to spend as much time as I wanted or didn’t want on projects, and having that flexibility. I also found that doing homework for art classes was a lot easier for me,” Cornils said. “I didn’t feel as trapped by the amount of time I was spending. I’m still spending 30 to 40 hours a week on a project, but it didn’t feel like it.”
Cornils is hoping to graduate in December from UAA.
“I did a lot of [art shows] my freshman and sophomore year, cause I had a lot of time,” Cornils said. “I had art at The Hoardy Marmot and the kombucha places and Kaladi’s, and was able to cycle it out. My junior year I did three studios and I kind of halted all of that. My goal is to just get out and get my toes in before I graduate.”
Sam Davenport is a writer residing in Anchorage. She's a leo and a plant-person, and loves spending quality time with her dog, Aspen. She is a Real Housewives fan and has been called a Bravo historian.
