Off The Wall Magazine Q&A with Sage Tucker-Ketcham
8/25/2021
Maine: I moved to Maine while attending Maine College of Art. I love Portland and living near the ocean. After graduating MECA in 2003 with my BFA in painting, I moved back to Vermont to pursue art. Maine has become a second home. I come to Maine several times a year, with family, friends, and sometime alone.
Inspiration: I paint from life, moments, and small memories. A road, barn, old house, pattern, hedge row, water view, a bedroom, or table with tea are all opportunities to study color, shape, pattern, and light to capture something familiar, safe, and beautiful. I find inspiration from just stopping, listening, and looking.
Medium: I paint with oils on canvas sometimes panels. I use traditional oils and mediums. I work in thin layers first then apply the oil paint thicker each layer.
Artist Hero: Where do I start? I would have dinner with Paul Gauguin and Jackson Pollok, have Warhol over for dessert, and then go meet Takashi Murakami for a late-night beer. Then tea in the morning with Joan Synder and Mary Heilmann. All have taught me a lot about the medium of paint, but also the life and commitment one makes to make art.
Studio: My current studio is at home in an 800 square foot basement. I am a very messy painter, and the floors are covered in tape, paint, nails, and old paint brushes. It is totally private and is where I can be messy. I have a “clean space” too, where I put finished work to look at. Once I am done a body of work, I clean my studio thoroughly, and then start contributing to the mess all over again.
Where in Maine: I love driving up the coast starting in Kittery, grab BOBs Clam shack for lunch and take my time driving US-1. The beaches in Kennebunk are some of my favorite places, Parsons Beach (my husbands last name) is a must stop every time we drive over. We spend several weekends a year in Ogunquit. While Portland was home, walking up and down commercial street several time a day, the light bouncing off the brick was my favorite part of the day. I worked in Cape Elizabeth and have been fortunate enough to spend many summers in Georgetown with my dear college friend. The ships in Bath still amaze me every time I pass by. I am so grateful to have Maine in my life.
Fun Fact: My middle name is Ember, Sage Ember, I am named after the incense smudge.
Education: I dabbled in undergrad, I spent a semester at Goddard College and then transferred to Burlington College. I really wanted to go to a full-time art school. I found the perfect college for me when I came to Maine College of Art, I learned so much in my BFA program in painting. I then received my MFA, through an inspirational program at the Fine Arts Work Center, Provincetown through Massachusetts College of Art, and Design. There I got to work with Mary Heilmann and Joan Synder, among other noteworthy artist.
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