About Sakara Perry
I am a fine artist living in Rhode Island with my husband Tom and our cat Denver. Through a labor of layers and love I create unique images with vivid textures. Creating is my passion and I live off the anticipation of how my art will happily surprise me.
From a very early age I loved playing with paint and every art material I could get my hands on. The feel of the paint moving underneath my brush and blending with another color sparked a certain magic inside me. At the age of five when anyone asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up I would have told you “an artist” (or a bus monitor depending on the day but hey, I was five). Every day that I get to show up to my studio or an art festival I am so grateful that I get to make that little girl smile.
“We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails.”
2009-2013 The College Years
My years at Massachusetts College of Art in Boston, MA were so pivotal for me because for the first time I was out of my comfort zone and living in a city. With the help of a beautiful community of artists and professors in the Illustration department I was able to explore who I was as an artist and more importantly who I was as a person. I developed my mixed media collage process and fell in love with using acrylic paint in combination with layers and thick textures.
2016 The 100 Day Project
Having found myself stagnant in the hustle and bustle of life I decided to commit to doing art every day and on July 10, 2016 I embarked on a 100 day sketchbook project that spanned until October 18, 2016. After the first few days I settled on the medium of calligraphy ink and dip pen for these pages because it sparked a curiosity and excitement in me that I had been missing. The early days started as drawings of anything from sneakers to houses to landscapes until the pages became primarily landscape based and I started to incorporate watercolor in addition to the ink. I posted each of the sketches to my Instagram page for accountability and at the end of the 100 days I had created this whole new way of working that was not only meditative and healing for me but also for my audience. The small but faithful group of people that followed along made me realize that my art could affect people in the way that I had always hoped.
2017 Art Festivals & Etsy
Coming off the 100 Day Project I had developed a momentum of creating art every day and I decided if I was going to be doing that anyway I might as well try to sell the pieces! I had always had a dream to do art festivals and open my own Etsy store and now seemed as good a time as any so I set a goal for myself to open my Etsy shop in January and make enough pieces to sell at the Scituate Art Festival in October of that same year. I was beyond thrilled that both things came to fruition and it was only the beginning of my journey as a festival artist and an online seller. Being able to connect with my collectors in person brought me a sense of purpose and belonging I didn’t expect and every year these in person events are what keep me inspired to keep doing what I do.
The Journey Continues…
Since starting festivals in 2017 I have added in more shows in Rhode Island and Connecticut and I plan to keep at it and keep growing from year to year! I was so honored to win Best in Watercolor (2022) at Mystic Outdoor Arts Festival and Best in Mixed Media (2023) at Old Saybrook Arts & Crafts Festival. My current permanent festival line up includes Wickford Art Festival, Mystic Outdoor Arts Festival, Old Saybrook Arts & Crafts Festival, and Scituate Art Festival but stay tuned on my Events calendar and be sure to sign up for my newsletter for the most up to date information on where you can see me or buy my work in person!