More About The Artist

"Although painting in the studio is more comfortable, nothing compares to the excitement of the moment, when I am out of doors, and I find a great place to paint. The inspiration of the light on the land can change in a moment. The feeling of the day and the essence of the place are vividly there to be captured. In those first exhilarating moments, when I begin to put paint on the paper anything seems possible." 
                                                                                ~Sandra Imperatori

Sandra Imperatori (known as "Sandy" to friends & family) received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University). She was awarded one of the first undergraduate degrees in Graphic Design in the country.  
 
After graduation Sandra moved with her family to Kansas City and worked at the Johnson County Community College in suburban Kansas City where she helped create one of the first community college "in-house" graphic design studios and earned national awards for her illustrations and graphic work. Later she helped create an innovative graphic design career program for the college. She became the owner of The Artworks, a fine art gallery, and the Senior Art Director of both Kansas City Magazine and Touring Times Magazine. Both magazines won national awards for illustration and design.  
 
During this time she had a dream of painting full time, so she continued to paint, enter shows, and teach in her spare time. Originally an oil painter, she eventually began experimenting with watercolor.
 
In 1984 Sandra relocated to Northern California and began painting with Pam Glover and a group of Bay Area "Plein Air "painters. She retired from her art director's position and began painting full time. She was active on the Board of Directors of The Gallery Concord and Fairfield Visual Arts Association, where she was the Director of shows for the Fairfield City Gallery. Sandra was honored as the Artist of the Year in Solano County. 

Recently, she is painting in Northern California and Nevada with a small group of friends, she teaches watercolor painting in Vacaville, and occasionally at Arts Benicia. At the end of each summer Sandra hosts a popular week long workshop at St Mary's Art Center in Virginia City, Nevada.